Jose Mourinho has Chelsea playing it safe against title opponents

Chelsea and Manchester City may not have put on a classic last weekend, but Jose Mourinho’s pragmatic approach to fixtures against his rivals this season meant that a turgid encounter could have been predicted long before the match was under way.

The Portuguese coach has made a habit of stifling the Blues’ title opponents this season, even when it comes at the expense of his team’s own attacking threat.

On Saturday evening Chelsea, who were denied the creative influence of Cesc Fabregas and the deadly finishing of Diego Costa, played a very cautionary game despite having taken maximum points from every game at Stamford Bridge this season.

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At Mourinho’s apparent instructions Chelsea strangled the game for long periods, managing just three shots themselves, and this has been typical of their performances against the four sides currently making up the rest of the top five.

Over the course of the 23 rounds of Premier League games played so far this season, Chelsea have created an average of 18.4 shots per match against the lower 15 sides in the table, yet against their immediate rivals Man City, Manchester United, Southampton and Arsenal, this figure drops to an average of just six shots per game: over three times lower.

Of the five games Chelsea have played against these teams this season, four - including all three away ties - have finished 1-1, with their only victory coming against Arsenal.

This is a far cry from last season when Mourinho’s side did the double over both Man City and Liverpool - the only teams to finish above them - taking a total of 19 points from a possible 24 against the combined top five.

Yet this conservative shift in tactic is clearly working for the Blues, who sit five points clear at the top of the table, even if their opponents do not share the same philosophy.

Though City, United and Southampton see their shot count drop by an average of around 20 per cent when playing against each other, it is nothing compared to the 67 per cent drop that Chelsea register.

Arsenal, who until their recent victory over Man City at the Etihad were often cited as naive for not changing their approach to big games, unsurprisingly see just an 11 per cent drop in their efforts against the four other sides who make up the top five.

This appears to lend weight to the theory that they often try to go blow-for-blow with their heavyweight opponents, rather than adopting a more pragmatic attitude.

Football is not a game decided by aesthetics and Mourinho knows this well. He may have taken his approach another step towards the extreme this season, but who is to argue given the dividends it is paying?

As long as the status quo is maintained, Chelsea fans certainly don’t appear to mind.

Jose Mourinho has Chelsea playing it safe against title opponents

On Saturday evening Chelsea, who were denied the influence of Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa, played a very cautionary game despite having taken maximum points from every game at Stamford Bridge this season.