He got everything right. The team, the strategy, the tempo, the mood. He knew the stakes, he knew how to win, he knew when to risk, when to gamble, when to hold. It was, quite possibly, the perfect game.
There have been more than a few landmark performances in the career of Jose Mourinho, but a very strong case can be made that this was his finest as a Premier League manager.
The impact on the title race was not immediately obvious. Chelsea started the day in third place and ended it there, too. The same with Manchester City in second. Goal difference separates them now, rather than three points, but goal difference can still win leagues and if the competition ended tomorrow the trophy would go to Arsenal.
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Super Bran: Ivanovic celebrates giving Chelsea the lead in the first half
Match facts
Man City: Hart 6, Zabaleta 6, Kompany 5, Nastasic 5, Kolarov 6, Jesus Navas 6, Demichelis 6, Toure 7, Silva 6, Dzeko 5, Negredo 6 (Jovetic 57)
Subs not used: Milner, Rodwell, Clichy, Pantilimon, Boyata, Lopes.
Booked: Demichelis, Kolarov, Nastasic.
Chelsea: Cech 6, Ivanovic 7, Cahill 7, Terry 7, Azpilicueta 6, Matic 7,Luiz 7, Ramires 5, Willian 6 (Mikel 90), Hazard 8 (Ba 90), Eto'o 6 (Oscar 83)
Subs not used: Cole, Lampard, Salah, Schwarzer
Booked: Ivanovic, Matic, Willian
Goals: Ivanovic 32.
Attendance: 47,364
Man of the match: Eden Hazard
Referee: Mike Dean 7
Managers:Manuel Pellegrini 5
Jose Mourinho 7
Jose Mourinho 7
*Player ratings by CHRIS WHEELER at the Etihad Stadium
No, Mourinho’s impact was greater than a mere jostling for position. He exposed a myth, he challenged the perceived wisdom, he inspected the evidence and threw it contemptuously to the floor. His revelation, the statement he made to the rest of the league, was that Manchester City are not invincible. There should be no procession, no deference, no awestruck observation of their inevitable progress to the finishing tape.
This team can be beaten. This team have weaknesses. That was Mourinho’s message for the masses. Chelsea’s performance was an invitation for others to do the same, to get at City’s defence, to place obstacles in the path of that all-conquering midfield.
What Mourinho proved was that if a coach can cause City as many problems as they are causing him, they are vulnerable. Few coaches have Chelsea’s squad, of course, or Mourinho’s intelligence in deploying it but now there is hope and a map that shows where the treasure is. This was worth more than just three points to Chelsea.
At the end, Mourinho’s emotion overwhelmed him. He punched the air, roared, chest-bumped every staff member and player in the vicinity. Then he shook Manuel Pellegrini’s hand. The pair have met nine times as managers, Mourinho winning seven and drawing one.
Chelsea have claimed all six points from City this season and this was an improvement on the win at Stamford Bridge.
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Pick that one out: Ivanovic fires home from the edge of the box to give Chelsea the lead
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Hittingh the back of the net: Ivanovic shot goes past Joe Hart in the City goal
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Dejected look: Manchester City players react to going behind
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What a strike: Sportsmail's graphic shows how Ivanovic scored his goal
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Punching the air: Jose Mourinho celebrates Chelsea's win
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Mixed fortunes: John Terry and Gary Cahill celebrate at full time as David Silva walks off
SUPER STAT
Since Branislav Ivanovic made his Premier League debut in 2008, the League’s top-scoring defenders from open play are John Terry 18, Gary Cahill 17 and Ivanovic 15
Few thought Chelsea could win here. Week by week the growing momentum behind City’s title challenge has been obvious. Thumping victories, against some of the biggest and best in the land, their rivals stumbling as statisticians talked of scoring records, points records. And then, six days ago, as Chelsea and Arsenal drew with inferiors, City put five past Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
The facts, the numbers seemed overwhelming. Yet Mourinho showed where there is a will there is a way, even against Manchester City. They could have been three clear at half-time and hit the woodwork on three occasions. Pellegrini said City deserved a draw but few agreed. His team forced some good chances near the end, but Chelsea should have been comfortable by then. The best team won, simple as that.
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Eyes wide shut: Manchester City's Edin Dzeko and Chelsea's Nemanja Matic fight for the ball
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Boot it away: Petr Cech and Gary Cahill try and clear the ball before Alvaro Negredo can get to it
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The sole mitigation for City was that the injury to Fernandinho - four weeks out is the worst-case scenario - threw them a loop in midfield. Martin Demichelis was deployed in his place but was soon overrun.
Former City man Dietmar Hamann described Yaya Toure as a liability on Match of the Day earlier in the season and was mocked but it was possible to see what he meant.
Chelsea were so fast on the counter-attack that discipline was required but Demichelis could be seen looking around desperately for reinforcements. City played into Chelsea’s hands, but it was a trap perfectly set.
The announcement of Chelsea’s team saw much crowing about Mourinho parking the bus but, despite the solid base, it wasn’t like that at all.
Mourinho picked players to thwart City in midfield where they do most damage - Nemanja Matic, in front of the back four was quite exceptional - but he also packed his starting XI with enough pace to trouble City on the break.
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Fight for the ball: City's Martin Demichelis competes with Eden Hazard for the ball
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Close, but not close enough: David Silva sees his effort go agonisingly wide
THE GAME BY NUMBERS
61 This was the first time in 61 home league games that City failed to score. They fell five short of Man United’s record of 66.
260 The number of days since City last lost at home in the league, a 3-2 defeat by Norwich in May 2013.
25 City had 25 efforts at goal, but only three were on target. Edin Dzeko hit five off target.
2008 This is the first time since December 2008 that Chelsea have kept four straight clean sheets away from home.
16 Eden Hazard made 16 dribbles. No other player made more than six.
10 Chelsea have 10 points from four games against the rest of the top four this season.
Mourinho knew City would see plenty of the ball at home and prepared for it, but he also planned to shock them. So in a first half when City enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, much of it around Chelsea’s area, the visitors scored the only goal, had the best chance and hit the bar.
All on the counter-attack, obviously, but nothing wrong with that. Some of the greatest teams have played on the counter and those coached by Mourinho are invariably champions of the art.
The first 45 minutes, certainly, was as good as it gets; a lesson in how to absorb pressure and return it as energy. In science fiction films the aliens have machines like this. They suck all the firepower out of humanity’s weapons and pay it back in one mighty explosion.
That is what Chelsea did at the Etihad. They should have gone a goal up after 27 minutes when a sustained period of City pressure ended with a suicidally under-hit pass from Alvaro Negredo which necessitated a frantic last-ditch tackle from Demichelis to stop a Chelsea break.
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Close ball control: Hazard gets the better of both Pablo Zabaleta and Demichelis
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Winding runs: Hazard was a threat for Chelsea all evening
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Constant threat: Sportsmail's heat map shows the impact Hazard had on the game
WHO SAYS YOU NEED TO PLAY KEEP BALL?
Chelsea only had 34.7 per cent of possession last night, but boy did they make it count. It was their lowest share of possession this season, but they didn’t need it, with Jose’s tactic of hitting City on the break and in good numbers working wonders for the visitors.
CHELSEA POSSESSION: 34.7%
MAN CITY POSSESSION: 65.3%
He was unlucky with the rebound, and Chelsea were away. They were four on two when Willian slipped the ball to Ramires, who had only goalkeeper Joe Hart to beat. Ramires is a fabulous lively presence but he is no Deadeye Dick and his finish allowed Hart to make a fine save.
Just five minutes later, however, Chelsea’s tactics paid off. Eden Hazard — Chelsea’s creative heart who was dealt with accordingly by City, much to Mourinho’s fury - exchanged passes with Ramires, whose shot was charged down forcefully by Vincent Kompany. The ball ricocheted to full back Branislav Ivanovic for another decisive goalscoring intervention, striking a low shot from just outside the area that flew across Hart and into the bottom corner.
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Bad day at the office: Pellegrini looks frustrated on the sideline as City lose
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Park the bus? Not me: Mourinho looks happy with his team's effort as Manuel Pellegrini shouts orders
The Etihad watched, stunned. City never recovered. From there, Chelsea executed their game plan better. City at times looked like the Arsenal of old. Lots of lovely possession, lots of lovely football, but strategically short. Chelsea knew what they were about; they could easily have won by more.
There was a minute to go before half-time when a deep Hazard cross from the left picked out Samuel Eto’o in a surprising clearing at the far post. He struck the ball first time but against the bar. It was the first of a few like that.
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Flare up: Willian picks up a lighter that was thrown from the stands
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Nasty scenes: Willian picks up the lighter before handing it to the officials
Chelsea hit the woodwork twice in the second half - three strikes is the most by any team in the Premier League this season - once from a long-range shot by man of the match Matic that grazed the bar, then from a Gary Cahill header that struck a post, full on.
By contrast, City were surprisingly subdued. David Silva came close twice - one near miss, one fine Petr Cech save - and Stevan Jovetic brought the ground to its feet in injury time, but they never truly got behind Chelsea, not once. It was a master class. A game-changing, myth-busting master class. And it is all very different from here.
ETIHAD MATCH ZONE - By Chris Wheeler and Sami Mokbel
Jose jibe returned with interest
Jose Mourinho has been talking about ‘19th-century football’ recently, and you have to go back almost that far to find when City last won nine league games in a row, which was in 1912 — a record they were trying to equal on Monday night. The Chelsea boss was referring to West Ham after last week’s goalless draw at Stamford Bridge.
Jose Mourinho has been talking about ‘19th-century football’ recently, and you have to go back almost that far to find when City last won nine league games in a row, which was in 1912 — a record they were trying to equal on Monday night. The Chelsea boss was referring to West Ham after last week’s goalless draw at Stamford Bridge.
The City fans simply threw it back at him after Chelsea’s cautious start. ‘Are you West Ham in disguise?’ they sang.
Fernandinho misses cue
Fernandinho had gone public with his pleas for Luiz Felipe Scolari to watch this game as he went up against Ramires, Willian and David Luiz, all hoping to win a place in Brazil’s World Cup squad. But City’s £30million midfielder was ruled out by a muscle injury, and so Manuel Pellegrini, already without Javi Garcia, had to push centre back Martin Demichelis into midfield with Yaya Toure.
Fernandinho had gone public with his pleas for Luiz Felipe Scolari to watch this game as he went up against Ramires, Willian and David Luiz, all hoping to win a place in Brazil’s World Cup squad. But City’s £30million midfielder was ruled out by a muscle injury, and so Manuel Pellegrini, already without Javi Garcia, had to push centre back Martin Demichelis into midfield with Yaya Toure.
Blues extend record at City
City may have won the last four league meetings between these two clubs at the Etihad, but no team have a better record in this half of Manchester throughout the history of the Premier League than Chelsea. They enjoyed 10 wins in total over City going into Monday night’s game. A closer inspection of the two starting line-ups for Monday night’s game showed that they cost exactly the same to put together - £156million.
City may have won the last four league meetings between these two clubs at the Etihad, but no team have a better record in this half of Manchester throughout the history of the Premier League than Chelsea. They enjoyed 10 wins in total over City going into Monday night’s game. A closer inspection of the two starting line-ups for Monday night’s game showed that they cost exactly the same to put together - £156million.
Micah’s hard fitness regime
Micah Richards will have core-fitness tests this week to be fit for City as they chase four trophies.
The right back has had injury concerns over the past 18 months, most recently a hamstring strain.
He returned in the 4-2 win over Watford in the FA Cup on January 25 but made way for Vincent Kompany at half-time. He missed Monday night’s game, but could be fit for Saturday’s visit to Norwich.
Micah Richards will have core-fitness tests this week to be fit for City as they chase four trophies.
The right back has had injury concerns over the past 18 months, most recently a hamstring strain.
He returned in the 4-2 win over Watford in the FA Cup on January 25 but made way for Vincent Kompany at half-time. He missed Monday night’s game, but could be fit for Saturday’s visit to Norwich.
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+21Is Ivanovic Joe-king?
Was Branislav Ivanovic shocked that he scored with his left foot or was he poking fun at Joe Hart? The Chelsea defender gestured as if he was washing his hair when he celebrated, possibly poking fun at Hart’s Head and Shoulders adverts.
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