Cesc Fabregas digs deep as Chelsea beat Tottenham to win the Capital One cup
When Cesc Fabregas left Barcelona, the club website published a goodbye message which was rather surprising, if not necessarily untrue. They stated that after starting seasons well, he dropped away after the winter breaks, producing less goals and assists.
That's also been the trend with his Chelsea career in this first season. In recent weeks, partly due to an injury, he's not been as productive, as influential, as he was pre-Christmas. But perhaps Jose Mourinho will be able to get something more out of him, something that his managers in Spain never could. In the second half of this Capital One Cup final win over Tottenham, he certainly did.
Taken off with three minutes to go, Fabregas received the adulation of Chelsea's fans, standing to applaud him after a job well done. Roman Abramovich too, put his hands together for the midfielder. His replacement Oscar, and then his manager gave him a hug. Fabregas' first half showing had been listless, but he improved significantly in the second period.
It was a win that ended Mourinho's own three-year trophy drought. Other managers would love a "drought" like that, but not the Portuguese. He's a serial winner. Mourinho's excitement during the celebrations told its own story.
It was a win that ensured Cesc had won as many honours in eight months at Chelsea as he did in eight years at Arsenal.
It was a win that avenged the 2008 defeat by Tottenham at Wembley in the same final, and more recently the 5-3 humbling in the Premier League.
It was also a win that completed a near-perfect day for Chelsea. With Liverpool beating Manchester City in the morning and giving Mourinho's side the chance to stretch their lead at the top of the league, this victory puts them closer to winning the double, or with luck in Europe, a potential treble.
The build-up to the game had been clouded by various troubles; the racism incident in Paris, Nemanja Matic being suspended - much to Mourinho's chagrin. Starting Kurt Zouma in midfield, in the Serbian's absence, seemed a risky move. And for much of the first half, the Blues looked under the weather.
When the opening goal came, it almost revelled in how scrappy it was, like a pig rolling around in muck. After Branislav Ivanovic had been fouled on the right, Willian whipped in the free kick. The ball skipped off two Tottenham players - Danny Rose and Harry Kane - rebounded off Zouma, to John Terry. The Chelsea man lashed the ball wildly at goal, with his strike deflecting off Kane again, and past the helpless Hugo Lloris.
Jose Mourinho's men had scored right on the stroke of half-time, without creating much else in the first 45 minutes. Tottenham had been the better side, but they too were restricted to only a couple of shots at Petr Cech's goal. The closest they came to finding the net was Christian Eriksen's free kick, which struck the Chelsea crossbar.
Both Chelsea and Fabregas came out to play in the second half, and that was no coincidence. Cesc forced a decent save from Lloris with an overhead kick aimed towards the bottom right corner. It was a moment of brilliance, of the type the midfielder is so capable of producing. What Mourinho has to do is find a way to keep them flowing.
The managed noted after the game that if he hadn't put Zouma in midfield, he would have needed to play Cesc as one of the deeper players, alongside Ramires. Mourinho said that means he wouldn't have been able to set up Costa for the second goal. What he didn't say, which was equally important, is that Chelsea may have lost the midfield battle if Cesc was asked to be one of the scrappers. That's not his game and never will be.
Just 10 minutes into the second half, Fabregas made his renewed influence tell. The midfielder sprayed the ball out to the right, with a swirling pass, to Willian. The move continued, and there was Fabregas again, advanced in the centre. Willian came inside and returned the ball. Fabregas considered his options and shuttled the ball forward to Diego Costa in the box. The striker took the ball to the left and drilled it past Lloris with the help of a big deflection off Kyle Walker.
It was another ugly finish, but that's the way Mourinho likes it. Costa's manic celebration, roaring in the pouring rain, will adorn Monday morning's back pages. The former Atletico Madrid striker is at home here, with Mourinho not far removed from Diego Simeone. Whenever the striker contributes, the Chelsea fans scream his name. "Diego, Diego" was ringing around Wembley several times on Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, the one that got away from Barcelona, Fabregas, has now won half the number of trophies he picked up in Spain. By the end of the season, he could equal it. Perhaps even surpass it, depending on what happens in the Champions League.
Barcelona have Ivan Rakitic, they have a new style of play. The Croatian could end up being the man that replaces Xavi in the team, albeit not in the same style. That man should have been Cesc.
For better or worse, things didn't work out in that way, for a number of reasons. But if this piece of silverware is the first of many in a blue shirt, it won't be a move he regrets.
