John Terry Shows Why He's the Leader of Jose Mourinho's Chelsea 'Giants'
KING POWER STADIUM, LEICESTER, ENGLAND — Chelsea should have played Leicester City at the beginning of March, but they were busy winning the Capital One Cup.
When they eventually got to face the Foxes in this rescheduled match two months later, they were all but wrapping up another trophy. This time, it was the Premier League title.
Defeating Leicester 3-1 at the King Power Stadium, Jose Mourinho's men are now just two points away from sealing an unassailable lead, something the manager described as his "main objective."
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To achieve that, he's relied on some big characters in the Chelsea dressing room, and they were all on display in the Midlands.
"The old and the young [won us the game tonight]," Mourinho stated.
"Petr Cech put in a great performance. John [Terry], Didier [Drogba], Branislav [Ivanovic], but other giants were on the pitch—[Nemanja] Matic, [Cesc] Fabregas, Ramires. A great team."
It was a valid point from Mourinho. Like we've seen throughout much of 2014/15, Chelsea have remained ahead of the rest for that team ethic the manager preaches.
They were a team in the recent 1-0 victory against Manchester United, defending as one unit en masse to null the threat of their opponents before striking when the opportunity presented itself.
Against Arsenal on Sunday, it was the same approach that saw Chelsea come away from the Emirates Stadium with a point.
And they were at it again against Leicester, working in unison to continue their march to the title.
When we talk of those giants in the Chelsea dressing room, however, none come bigger than Terry.
He's the Chelsea captain, their leader, and when his team need him, he's always there.
That's how it worked against the Gunners when he put in his "greatest defensive performance" under Mourinho, and it was no different facing Leicester.
There was a twist this time, though: It was at the other end of the pitch where Terry did most damage, scoring the goal that killed this game off.
Battling against relegation, Nigel Pearson's men were in Chelsea's faces from the off. There may have been 46 points and 16 places separating them in the table, but they were going to match the Blues when it came to the battle.
They played with spirit, running on nothing but adrenaline at times, and Chelsea knew they had to placate it.
Drogba's equaliser went some of the way to doing that, cancelling out Marc Albrighton's first-half goal, but it was Terry's effort that stunned Leicester; it was the moment that ended their hopes of pulling off a shock.
When we talk about leading from the front, it's moments such as that which define Terry. He knew what was required and didn't shy away from the responsibility.
It was a big goal, a captain's goal.
Indeed, with Gary Cahill's movement to beat his man and arrow his header at goal—forcing Kasper Schmeichel to parry—the move had the look of a training ground set piece about it.
For those routines to work, they require planning and effort, yet in a game situation, nothing still comes with a guarantee. The only thing Mourinho could bank on in such an instance is the determination of his captain to follow up and be the first man to the ball.
Terry poked it over the line, although everything that led up to it was exactly why he remains the strongest part of the foundation to this team.
He anticipated and showed the desire to finish first.
That was Terry's sixth goal of the campaign. His last came at an equally vital moment too when he scored the opener against Tottenham Hotspur in the Capital One Cup final at Wembley.
Terry also scored the opening goals against Stoke City and West Ham United during the Christmas period, games Chelsea went on to win 2-0.
Mourinho picks characters to play under him, demanding commitment and effort to the cause. In Terry, he has the perfect advocate of where that will get teams.
Chelsea are now one step from Premier League glory, and with their captain leading the way, it's not difficult to see why.
Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes
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