Sunday 1 March 2015 22:06, UK
Jose Mourinho hailed his players for adapting to his gameplan after Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Tottenham in the Capital One Cup final.
Chelsea clinched their fifth League Cup success with a strike from skipper John Terry and an own goal from Kyle Walker either side of half time.
Mourinho sprung a surprise with his team selection for the final, with Kurt Zouma playing in midfield in place of the suspended Nemanja Matic.
But after a difficult opening period, the Blues settled in the second half, and stood firm to secure the first silverware of the new season, much to the Portuguese’s delight.
“My players strategically were fantastic,” Mourinho told Sky Sports.
“I have a certain concept about the final and obviously we cannot win every final but finals are not to play they are to win.
“We had a team not everyone was expecting but we had a team with a great balance, very compact in midfield, we pressed them very well.
I have a certain concept about the final and obviously we cannot win every final but finals are not to play they are to win.
“We didn’t have problems, they had a couple of chances. The free-kick (with which Christian Eriksen hit the bar) and nothing else, we controlled the game really well.
“We knew we would be dangerous on the counter, I was expecting more, but I think we played like we should play a final."
Spurs never really got going after the break, but Mourinho still reserved praise for Mauricio Pochettino and his players, while also hailing the impact of Chelsea players who didn’t feature in Sunday’s showpiece.
“Tottenham and Mauricio are fantastic,” Mourinho added. “He is building a great team, they gave us a very difficult match and I feel sorry for them.
"He is doing a fantastic work and having a great evolution in his career. I feel sorry for him but I know he is a proud man with the work he is doing and the team he got to the final."
Mourinho also reserved praise for the members of his squad who were not involved at Wembley but played their part earlier in the campaign.
“I am going to be honest, for me man of the match is (Thibaut) Courtois who brought us here with a fantastic semi-final against Liverpool.
“Man of the match is Filipe Luis, he didn’t play today but played fantastic in two matches against Liverpool.
“Man of the match is (Andreas) Christensen, played so well against Shrewsbury. All these guys are man of the match for me and maybe more than John (Terry) and the lucky ones to play this final.
“I feel sorry for the ones that didn’t play so for me they are the men of the match because for me this is a team.”
