Chelsea lifted their fifth League Cup title after beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in the Capital One Cup Final.
Goals either side of half-time from skipper John Terry and the prolific Diego Costa were enough to see the Blues to victory under the arch at Wembley Stadium.It also meant a first piece of silverware for Jose Mourinho since his return to England.
Chelsea dominated the early possession, with the magical feet of Eden Hazard receiving plenty of the ball. Ramires cut inside for the first chance of the match, but the Brazilian could only fire into a wall of Spurs bodies, before Branislav Ivanovic’s in-swinging cross left Hugo Lloris scrambling in an attempt to clear his lines. The resulting corner then made its way to Ivanovic at the far post but the Serbian headed wide of the mark.
Chelsea’s slick tempo was soon brought to a halt as Harry Kane’s quick feet forced a foul from Cesc Fabregas just outside the Spurs penalty area. Christian Eriksen, who netted a wonder free-kick against Sheffield United in the Semi-Final second leg, almost did the same, but his dipped effort crashed against the crossbar.
Kane continued to force the initiative moments later, but saw his low drive comfortably saved by Blues goalkeeper Petr Cech as both sides exchanged shots to little avail.
The game was certainly living up to the explosive pre-match atmosphere. Chelsea’s Diego Costa found himself tangling with the likes of Nabil Bentaleb and Kyle Walker, before Eric Dier picked up the first yellow card of the game for a late lunge on the Spanish front man.
The first domestic cup final of the season appeared to be coasting to a goalless score at half-time, but Nacer Chadli’s foul on Ivanovic on the right touchline meant there was one last chance for the Blues before the break.
Willian stepped up to take it and his delivery forced a goal-mouth scramble, before the ball fell perfectly for John Terry whose effort deflected past a helpless Lloris from six yards in what was the first Chelsea shot on target.
Jose Mourinho’s men so nearly made it 2-0 just after, when Fabregas’ corner again found Ivanovic at the back post and he headed on to Gary Cahill, who forced Lloris into a smart stop.
It was more of the same from Chelsea after the restart, with Hazard fizzing a ball across Spurs' six-yard box, but none of his team-mates were on hand to convert. Fabregas did test Lloris, though, with an acrobatic effort on the penalty spot, which was well saved.
As the heavens opened over Wembley, so did the floodgates for Chelsea. Costa picked the ball up on the edge of the Tottenham box and he slotted home to make it 2-0. Replays showed a deflection once again, this time off Kyle Walker, but Costa claimed and celebrated emphatically in front of the Blues' support.
Hazard then began calling the shots, something he tried but failed to do so in the opening 45 minutes. His one-two with Willian was poked marginally wide, before an inch perfect cross onto the head of Fabregas sailed wide of the near post.
Spurs huffed and puffed in a desperate attempt to get back into the match. Eriksen’s corner eluded Kane, who almost picked out a man of his own in the form of Chadli, but the Algerian couldn't connect.
They pushed again in stoppage time but man of the match Terry lunged at the feet of Kane, pulling off a heroic tackle to see Chelsea over the line for a 2-0 win.