Know-how key for Blues

Chelsea 1 Everton 0

It also completely removed any fanciful intangible notions of fate.

“It is know-how,” the Everton manager said.

Martinez was largely speaking about the “cute” manner in which Chelsea manufactured a 93rd-minute winning goal on Saturday, but he could also have been referring to the ingrained canniness it takes to go and win a title.

There can be no disputing that Mourinho, above anyone else in the Premier League since Alex Ferguson retired, has an awful lot. He has won seven domestic titles in his 10 full seasons of management since taking over at FC Porto in 2002 and, still top of the table after this tantalisingly late win, his current Chelsea side are ideally placed to make that eight. Even if he failed, he would still have as many as both Manuel Pellegrini and Arsene Wenger combined. The key moment against Everton, however, bore all the hallmarks of an outfit for which success is becoming first and second nature.

This, quite simply, was the type of goal that wins leagues. Deep into stoppage time, after a 90 minutes in which Chelsea had largely been second best, they still somehow contrived to score the key goal. In that, it was reminiscent of John O’Shea’s goal for Manchester United against Liverpool in spring 2007; Federico Macheda’s against Aston Villa in 2009. The reference is obvious and, afterwards, Mourinho was directly asked.

Was this reflective of the kind of quality that made Ferguson so successful? The Chelsea manager, for his part, played it all down. That’s been another hallmark of this season.

“It is not about Sir Alex, it is not Mourinho. The best teams do this more than the other teams. They are physically stronger, they can bring more intensity to the last part of the game because, on the bench, you have other kinds of solutions. It is difficult for smaller teams. The last minutes are where the best teams win points. It is not about the managers.”

Much of that, on this occasion, is difficult to dispute — beyond the part about physical strength. One of the most notable aspects of this game was how much a surprisingly sturdy Everton outmuscled Chelsea. James McCarthy was absolutely central to this, coming through a tectonic challenge with John Terry and cowing Eden Hazard with casually impressive ease.

Roy Keane would surely have been impressed, and it is a huge source of encouragement for Martin O’Neill.

It was here, however, where Mourinho’s talk about “other kinds of solutions” and “more intensity” was relevant. Rather than initially bringing on a forward, the Chelsea manager introduced Ramires to regain control of the midfield. The Brazilian’s force did more than that. In the 93rd minute his run forced a challenge from Phil Jagielka. A free-kick was surprisingly given but there was little surprise about what followed. Frank Lampard delivered, John Terry sought to divert and, somehow, the ball ended up going past Tim Howard and into the net.

Afterwards, Martinez didn’t want to get into any disputes about diving, but instead pointed to the harsh realities of the game at this level.

“It wasn’t pressure being put on the referee. It would be stupid of me to say that. If you look at the replay, it wasn’t a free-kick but that happened six or seven times. It is know-how. When you can’t break a team down, you have to be a bit more clever and dead-ball situations will give you that.

“We were playing well until the 93rd minute and it was a bit harsh. We didn’t deserve to lose the game. I think we all know how the game is played. Chelsea are 74 games unbeaten at home now. You don’t get that record by playing well every week. It is impossible to do that. You can do your own analysis. It is a big strength if you don’t play well to win a football game.”

Both managers now know that all too well.

CHELSEA: Cech 7; Ivanovic 7, Cahill 8, Terry 8, Azpilicueta 9; Matic 7, Lampard 7; Hazard 6, Oscar 5 (Ramires 45; 7), Willian 7 (Torres 62; 6); Eto;o 6 (Schurrle 69; 6).

EVERTON: Howard 6; Coleman 7, Jagielka 7, Distin 7, Baines 7; McCarthy 8, Barry 7; Mirallas 7 (Deulofeu 75; 5), Osman (Barkley 63; 6), Pienaar 7 (McGeady 80; 7); Naismith 6.

Referee: L Probert.