adminMANCHESTER. — He got everything right. The team, the strategy, the tempo, the mood. He knew the stakes, he knew how to win, he knew when to risk, when to gamble, when to hold. It was, quite possibly, the perfect game.There have been more than a few landmark performances in the career of Jose Mourinho, but a very strong case can be made that this was his finest as an English Premier League soccer manager.
The impact on the title race was not immediately obvious. Chelsea started the day on Monday in third place and ended it there, too. The same with Manchester City in second. Goal difference separates them now, rather than three points, but goal difference can still win leagues and if the competition ended tomorrow the trophy would go to Arsenal.
No, Mourinho’s impact was greater than a mere jostling for position. He exposed a myth, he challenged the perceived wisdom, he inspected the evidence and threw it contemptuously to the floor.
His revelation, the statement he made to the rest of the league, was that Manchester City are not invincible. There should be no procession, no deference, no awestruck observation of their inevitable progress to the finishing tape.
This team can be beaten. This team have weaknesses. That was Mourinho’s message for the masses. Chelsea’s performance was an invitation for others to do the same, to get at City’s defence, to place obstacles in the path of that all-conquering midfield.
What Mourinho proved was that if a coach can cause City as many problems as they are causing him, they are vulnerable. Few coaches have Chelsea’s squad, of course, or Mourinho’s intelligence in deploying it but now there is hope and a map that shows where the treasure is. This was worth more than just three points to Chelsea.
At the end, Mourinho’s emotion overwhelmed him. He punched the air, roared, chest-bumped every staff member and player in the vicinity. Then he shook Manuel Pellegrini’s hand. The pair have met nine times as managers, Mourinho winning seven and drawing one.
Chelsea have claimed all six points from City this season and this was an improvement on the win at Stamford Bridge.
Few thought Chelsea could win here. Week by week the growing momentum behind City’s title challenge has been obvious. Thumping victories, against some of the biggest and best in the land, their rivals stumbling as statisticians talked of scoring records, points records.
And then, six days ago, as Chelsea and Arsenal drew with inferiors, City put five past Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
The facts, the numbers seemed overwhelming. Yet Mourinho showed where there is a will there is a way, even against Manchester City.
They could have been three clear at half-time and hit the woodwork on three occasions. Pellegrini said City deserved a draw but few agreed. His team forced some good chances near the end, but Chelsea should have been comfortable by then. The best team won, simple as that.
The sole mitigation for City was that the injury to Fernandinho – four weeks out is the worst-case scenario – threw them a loop in midfield. Martin Demichelis was deployed in his place but was soon overrun.
Former City man Dietmar Hamann described Yaya Toure as a liability on Match of the Day earlier in the season and was mocked but it was possible to see what he meant. Chelsea were so fast on the counter-attack that discipline was required but Demichelis could be seen looking around desperately for reinforcements. City played into Chelsea’s hands, but it was a trap perfectly set.
The announcement of Chelsea’s team saw much crowing about Mourinho parking the bus but, despite the solid base, it wasn’t like that at all. – Mailonline.
Online Reporter