Chelsea lifted the League Cup after a 2-0 victory over Tottenham in an unexciting final at Wembley.
John
Terry gave Jose Mourinho's men the lead just before half-time when
Spurs' poor defence of a free kick gave him the time and space to fire
home via a deflection.
And the Blues cushioned that advantage
soon after half-time when Diego Costa's finish was diverted in by Kyle
Walker for an own goal.
Tottenham struggled to create genuine
chances to get back into the game and the final drifted towards its
conclusion as the Premier League leaders secured their first trophy of
the season.
Mourinho
made five changes from Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Burnley and saw his side
make the brighter start as Terry headed over Willian's cross before
Branislav Ivanovic's looping cross threatened Spurs' goal.
Hugo
Lloris - making his first League Cup appearance of the season - dealt
with the danger before Christian Eriksen rattled the woodwork with a
25-yard free kick. The Dane's opportunity came about after a foul on
Harry Kane and the Spurs striker was next to go close with a low strike
that tested Petr Cech.
Willian's raking pass set Eden Hazard away
down the left, although his strike was blocked by Eric Dier, before
Costa was involved in two flashpoints prior to the half-hour mark,
having raised his hands towards Nabil Bentaleb.
A knock to Walker
set the tone for a poor finish to the half for Spurs that was
compounded when Terry made the most of lax defending on the stroke of
half-time. When Chadli was caught out by a looping ball and fouled
Ivanovic, a host of Spurs defenders failed to clear Willian's delivery,
allowing skipper Terry to open the scoring from close range courtesy of a deflection off Kane.
Cesc
Fabregas's overhead kick forced Lloris into a smart save shortly after
the interval and Chelsea's positive start to the second half was
rewarded when Costa looked to have scored his first goal since
mid-January. A purposeful burst down the left was helped past Lloris by a
Walker deflection - which was the crucial touch - 56 minutes in, with
Pochettino opting to introduce Mousa Dembele and Erik Lamela to try and
gain a foothold in the contest.
However, Chelsea demonstrated
their defensive solidity to see out the victory with minimal fuss and
collect the first of three potential trophies this season, while Spurs
must focus on securing European qualification.
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