STAMFORD BRIDGE, LONDON — There are moments when every great team begin to realise their brilliance, and reaching Wembley for the Capital One Cup final is one of those for Jose Mourinho and his Chelsea players.
Chelsea had to overcome Liverpool in a tense semi-final, but overcome they did, and in the process they have leaped a significant hurdle in their development.
Now, they must go on and win the thing.
It was naive in the extreme to expect it to be a cakewalk against Liverpool, regardless of how dominant Chelsea have been in their recent meetings with Brendan Rodgers' side.
Winning this latest faceoff means Chelsea have gone seven games unbeaten against the Reds, a run that stretches back to 2012 when they lost 4-1 at Anfield—a game coming in the immediate aftermath of Chelsea winning the FA Cup against the same team.
None of that was important, though. What was important lay in Mourinho 's team's ability to come out on top in a defining moment of their campaign.
By hook or by crook, they did.
Questions marks rightly hang over Chelsea. Can they emulate the team Mourinho built in his first stint as Chelsea boss? Are they the real deal, a team capable of winning trophies consistently? Do they have the mettle to dominate English football?
We still don't know the answer—they haven't won anything yet—but they're making all the right noises.
Last season, Chelsea failed when it mattered, blowing their chances in the Premier League at a time when they appeared favourites, later losing to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League semi-final.
Almost a year on, they're five points clear at the top of the table and are returning to Wembley .
Chelsea beat Liverpool the hard way. They weren't at their free-flowing best—like the team that blew Liverpool away at Anfield earlier this season—and they weren't as dominant as we'd expect.
They paid Raheem Sterling too much respect, and Liverpool were able to counter that factor, getting much more joy across both legs than what they should have.
Trophies aren't won on the good days; they're won when you're not at your best and have to dig deep, finding the will to come through a challenge.
It's about character, determination, strength of mind.
Reaching the Capital One Cup final, Chelsea showed all of the above.
It's no wonder Mourinho was so jubilant in his post-match press conference.
"My view is it was a big semi-final. Two big games, but speaking about this one, a big game, a really big game," he said.
"Both teams were in their limits, and the result speaks for itself: 1-1 there, zero-zero here, extra time, one goal to decide. It was a big semi-final.
"I always say to the players that during the game, normally a difficult moment arrives. The difficult moment arrived in the first half, and we coped with the difficult moment. Liverpool was good, Liverpool was better than us, Liverpool was creating and we coped with that.
"We have to be intelligent to cope with the difficult moment of the game and wait for the right moment to be in control of the game. That moment arrived in the second half, when we were dominant, we create and should score.
"When we scored the goal in extra time, after that, the team showed me maturity and control."
This result came with a flavour of Napoli 2012 about it. The drama wasn't as heightened, the test not even on par, yet the character Chelsea showed was reminiscent of how they had to grind it out against the Italians back then.
Chelsea had to win that game in extra time, too, with Branislav Ivanovic finding himself on the scoresheet in front of the Shed End.
He did the same against Liverpool, his bloodied boot at the end of the game epitomising the sacrifices every player made on the night.
"They should put his boot on display in the academy so that every player can see it," Mourinho added, the significance of the wounds suffered by his defender not lost.
That Napoli fixture was the catalyst for Chelsea to win the Champions League in 2012. This current team needed a similar impetus, and they've got it.
One small step in the Capital One Cup, one giant leap for a football club.
Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1D6QUmK
via IFTTT January 27, 2015 at 05:49PM
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