Chelsea: 3 numbers from Tottenham vs. City that will haunt the winter break

Frank Lampard will try to rest and relax a bit during the winter break while also preparing Chelsea for a difficult run late in the month. Tottenham’s win over Manchester City should make it impossible for Lampard to get a decent night’s sleep.

Jose Mourinho is at his most dangerous when he is full of spite and vengeance, more so than his baseline levels of spite and vengeance. He earned a textbook Mourinho victory over his current archrival, Pep Guardiola, on Sunday, and three simple numbers capture the tensions Frank Lampard will feel over the 19 days before Chelsea play Tottenham.

2: Two shots, two goals

Tottenham had their first shot – not just their first shot on target, their first shot –  in the 63′. Steven Bergwijn scored from it. They took their second shot in the 71′. Son Heung-Min scored from that one. They added a third late in stoppage time, but that really doesn’t matter. The game was thoroughly over 20 minutes earlier.

Bergwijn’s shot came three minutes after Manchester City went down to 10 men. But Oleksandr Zinchenko’s yellow card was the direct cause, not the root cause, of what happened in the final 25 minutes.

Jose Mourinho trains his teams to wait for their moment. That moment may be a long ball that springs a counterattack, a slip by a highly-regarded English midfielder, a red card or anything else. “Parking the bus” is an exercise in strategic patience as well as confidence, and going from so little possession to a 2-0 lead within minutes of the opponent handing over an opportunity is the textbook example of Mourinho’s philosophy of knowing every way to control every phase of the game.

Tottenham’s stats sheet was the anti-Chelsea: Two goals from three shots, expected goals less than 0.5, 32% possession, fewer than half as many passes as their opponent. It was extreme even by Mourinho’s standards. But the outcome was typical for Mourinho just as it was an extreme example of everything Chelsea cannot do: control the game, finish chances, smother opponents, win with a clean sheet.

Manchester City were Chelsea in this match, but whereas Chelsea can get sneak a point from such positions against Leicester or Arsenal, they will not be able to against Tottenham if Mourinho has them playing like this.

3: Respect. Respect. Respect, man. Respect.

Jose Mourinho has won the domestic league and cup in four countries, the Champions League in two countries and the Europa League in a third. Of all those countries and competitions, the Premier League is his league. He understands it at a cerebral and visceral level. He knows this league and how to win it. And even if he doesn’t win it, he knows how to manipulate it as best as he can.

Tottenham will obviously not win the Premier League this season. They probably won’t next season, either. But if any manager could give the Spurs a banterectomy, it’s Jose Mourinho. Of course, conversely, if any club could deny Mourinho a trophy, it’s Tottenham.

None of that is Chelsea’s concern right now. All they need to know is that Jose Mourinho knows how to win in England and knows how to win at Stamford Bridge, and he is coming to Stamford Bridge in less than three weeks. He is in a position not only to ruin a week for Chelsea fans but to derail this season’s goals (see below).

Frank Lampard knows how to win from the pitch, but that will only help him so much against someone who knows how to win from the touchline. Tottenham could still – angels and ministers of grace protect us – win the FA Cup this year while finishing ahead of Chelsea in the table. If they do, it’s because a three-time Premier League winner knows can do a lot of damage to others even if he is not about to win his fourth.

4: Chelsea’s vanishing margin

After Chelsea’s draw at Leicester City and Tottenham’s win over Manchester City, the Blues now only have a four point hold on fourth place. Chelsea face Manchester United and Tottenham face Aston Villa before London derby, so the buffer could be down to one point or could be as much as seven points on February 22, but four points seems likely.

If you think Mourinho is motivated now, stand clear if he has the chance to go ahead of Chelsea into the Champions League places with a win at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea need to defeat Manchester United as their first line of defence against Tottenham Hotspur. Mourinho will already be out for vengeance against Lampard for having beaten him in their first meeting, for the Mourinho-esque way Lampard celebrated in front of the away support after the game, for having been the first of his former teams to defeat him at a new home and for his love of defeating his former clubs at their homes. He does not need any more motivation.

Chelsea have taken very few points from losing positions this season. Once they are down, they tend to stay down. If that’s the case over an individual game, it’s hard to think they will do any better reclaiming a winning position in the table.

They have been in fourth for 16 of 25 matchweeks, including the last 13. If they fall out of the top four, the prospect of them climbing back in – which may require Jose Mourinho falling back out – is dim enough for Chelsea fans to start clearing their Thursdays for next season.