If Chelsea go on to win the league this season, it will not be hard to pinpoint the moment when their charge began. Through the autumn Jose Mourinho had been morose and oddly evasive, his gloom deepening until, after the English League Cup defeat to Sunderland, he announced Chelsea would return to a more defensive style of play. A week later, his side successfully stifled Arsenal at Emirates Stadium and the old style and bounce were back.
After that game, he was mischievous and mocking, outrageous in a way, and yet twinkling with the hint of self-mockery. Suddenly, the charm was back, and English football remembered why it had been so taken by Mourinho in the first place. It was as though the defeat to Sunderland had confirmed in his mind the action he had to take: in the six games Chelsea have played since they have conceded just once.
The signing of Nemanja Matic is a further indication of the direction Chelsea are taking. As pundits queued up to criticise Chelsea's strikers – Fernando Torres, Samuel Eto'o and Demba Ba have scored just eight goals between them this season – Mourinho signed a defensive midfielder in Matic.
He may turn out to be the long-term successor to Frank Lampard, but in the short term he provides cover for John Obi Mikel.
He almost certainly will not start against Manchester United tonight, but even if he is just sitting in the stand, Matic offers United a glimpse of what they could have had. Of course there is something slightly embarrassing about paying £21 million (Dh126.6m) for a player two years after letting him leave with a valuation of £3m, but more significant is that Chelsea have acted to shore up a potential weakness while United, who were linked with Matic in the summer, are still yet to sign a dynamic midfielder, which they have been lacking for three years.
Perhaps the most damning feature heading into tonight’s clash at Stamford Bridge is Mourinho’s attitude. It is often so blatant that you wonder how effective a strategy it is, but Mourinho will regularly look to undermine a rival manager, dropping hints and casting aspersions.
For David Moyes, though, he had nothing but praise. “Just because they had a couple of bad results and aren’t top of the league, as they normally are, there’s no reason for David to be in trouble,” he said. “He’s very stable. He will have at least the time of his contract to build a team, to reach success, and to be there for many years. I don’t think he needs sympathy. He has a fantastic job and no problems.
“We’re not playing a team who are 11 points behind the leaders but that we’re playing against the champions, against Manchester United. I’ve been in the game for too long. I’ve played dozens and dozens of derbies and classic matches, matches between the big teams, and this is what experience says.
“More than that, many times on many occasions, the team that looks to be in the most difficult situation is the team that appears stronger in that match.”
When Mourinho starts pitying you, you are in trouble.
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