Chelsea vs. Tottenham: Tactical Review of Capital One Cup Final
Chelsea lifted the Capital One Cup final on a wet Sunday afternoon at Wembley following their 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur. It represented Jose Mourinho's first trophy since taking over the Blues' mantle for the second time.
Formations and XIs
Chelsea played a hybrid 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 with Kurt Zouma the selection to replace Nemanja Matic in midfield. Petr Cech played in goal ahead of Thibaut Courtois, and Cesar Azpilicueta beat Filipe Luis to the left-back spot.
Tottenham Hotspur played a 4-2-3-1 too, favouring Eric Dier at centre-back alongside Jan Vertonghen and Danny Rose ahead of Ben Davies. Andros Townsend got the nod on the right ahead of Erik Lamela.
1. Dominant Yet Blunt Spurs
Spurs monopolised the ball in the first half, clocking up 59 percent possession and completing 194 passes to Chelsea's 119, per WhoScored.com. Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb picked up plenty of touches and spread the play with ease.
The only issue is Spurs rarely came close to putting the ball in the back of the net. A Christian Eriksen free-kick that cracked against the bar aside, open-play chances were hard to come by.
Kane managed just a single shot and hardly dropped in to link play, while the attacking midfield three in the 4-2-3-1 were underwhelming and uninventive in their movement. It's not the first time in recent weeks that Mauricio Pochettino's selection in this area, whatever the personnel, has disappointed.
Andros Townsend managed one run-and-shot, but Nacer Chadli was poor throughout and Christian Eriksen stifled by the bodies in midfield.
2. Disjointed Yet Ruthless Chelsea
Chelsea didn't enjoy the first half from an attacking perspective, and John Terry admitted to Sky Sports live after the game that he was surprised his side went into the interval one goal up.
The Blues midfield clearly missed the monstrous Matic, with Zouma doing a reasonable job holding alongside Ramires. Cesc Fabregas drifted between the No. 8 and No. 10 role, morphing the formation between 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1, but barely influenced proceedings in the first 45 minutes.
Their best attacks came from quick counters down the left side, with Cesar Azpilicueta doing a fine job of firing early passes into the path of Diego Costa, splitting the centre-back and full-back. He had Eric Dier extremely worried, and Kyle Walker was unable to get forward due to his covering responsibilities.
Costa stretching Spurs down the left vertically and then releasing Eden Hazard inside looked a real threat. Creating centrally was a huge issue, but down the left looked more promising. Tottenham held it together superbly for 44 minutes, but a lapse at a set piece saw Terry force the Blues ahead just before the interval.
3. Killer Goal
Spurs started the second half strongly too, with Danny Rose surging to the byline and crossing low. It signalled a strong 15 opening minutes, but once again the imagination and creativity lacked.
But Chelsea's second goal on the hour mark killed the contest, and once again the situation in which it arose caused more sympathy to flood for Spurs. Cesc slid the ball left to Costa in the box, and his heavily deflected effort beat Hugo Lloris at the near post.
From there, the belief drained out of Tottenham as the size of the task hit them: Chelsea fell into a defensive 4-2-3-1 with hardworking midfielders and sat on top of their two-goal lead. Juan Cuadrado and Oscar were brought on simply to run around and cover ground, closing out the victory.
Spurs started making mistakes, and the Blues created more chances—but always had enough men back to deal with attacks and squeezed the life out of the game. It was a classic Jose Mourinho final.
Quickfire Points
- Pochettino's side fought valiantly but lost to a superbly organised outfit.
- Zouma played OK in midfield, and the 20-year-old deserves credit for playing out of position in a cup final and succeeding.
- Roberto Soldado played pretty well when he came on—a surprise to many—but couldn't turn the tide of the game.
- Questions over Lamela, Townsend, Chadli and Mousa Dembele rise again. If there's one area Spurs need to buy quality it's in this area to complement Eriksen.
.png?w=600 "NBA Playoff Bracket After 76ers Win")
