Chris Hatherall: Chelsea recovery ain’t going to be pretty

The days when José Mourinho was under pressure from above to play attractive, attacking football are long gone; so his pragmatic and defensive approach which reaped dividends here at Tottenham could prove bad news for John Terry and Diego Costa as Chelsea bid to save their season and close the gap from 14th to 4th.

Mourinho finally found a defensive formation and philosophy to stop the rot with a goalless draw at White Hart Lane — a stadium where his team lost 5-3 last season — and the fact that he did it without injured Terry and without sulking striker Costa, who was controversially left on the bench, is hugely significant.

In Terry’s absence, Chelsea’s defence — which had conceded 23 goals in 13 league games — looked far more solid and mobile, restricting a rapidly-improving Tottenham side to only a handful of chances.