Branislav Ivanovic rises to occasion for Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea

Capitol One Cup semi-final second leg

Branislav Ivanovic has potentially saved Chelsea season, and perhaps even Jose Mourinho’s sanity, from collapse after scoring an extra-time winner in a controversial Capital One Cup semi-final against Liverpool that at one stage looked set to plummet the Blues into depression and their manager into pit of paranoia.

Only four days ago Chelsea were tipped for the quadruple but having lost, shamefully, at home to Bradford City in the FA Cup last weekend they were in serious danger of exiting another competition until Ivanovic’s 94th minute header from a Willian free-kick broke Liverpool’s resolve.