The Liverpool game against Man City, kicking off at Anfield at noon, was easily the best match on Sunday.
Yaya Toure was beyond colossal in the first seven minutes but then he miscued a volley so wildly that it became a pass to Zabaleta on the right flank.
After 9 minutes 33 seconds I thought: Raheem can beat City today and 30 seconds later he passed to Jordan Henderson, who fired a thunderous bending shot past Joe Hart.
So it was 1-0 to Liverpool after 10 minutes and 4 seconds.
Two minutes later Aguero broke onto a lofted pass from David Silva the left and Mignolet stayed at home and the explosive sharpshooter’s first-touch left-foot shot rattled the far post.
It was an exciting contest and Gary Neville told us why: “Both sets of defences have got the wobbles. They can’t clear a ball!”
Man City equalised after a slick move between Yaya Toure and David Silva reached Aguero and his clever reverse pass allowed Dzeko to make it 1-1 in 25.
It was a rocking game, as good as you’ll see in our over-hyped Premier League.
At half-time Jamie Carragher told us that Henderson had stepped up this season with 10 assists and 4 goals.
When Kompany fouled Raheem he was lucky not to get a yellow card. Then Raheem got in front of Zabaleta but the bounce of Lallana’s cross beat him. Not quite a proper chance, as I thought Raheem was where he needed to but the ball wasn’t.
Big gaps had opened up in City’s midfield and, as Gary Neville noted, “Every pass is going to Coutinho.”
Sure enough, when Raheem found the Brazilian with a short pass, Coutinho stepped inside and fired a wickedly curling 20-yard shot inside the far post for 2-1.
That was in 75 minutes and there were no more goals. For a side that played in Istanbul on Thursday night, and lost to Besiktas, Liverpool played very well in what was a very big match for both clubs.
At Wembley, Spurs played OK on the Capital One Cup Final but Chelsea beat them 2-0.
As you know, Chelsea are a very physical, tactical outfit who know how to edge ahead in a final – and how to defend a lead.
I thought Mourinho would start Oscar but he started Zouma and parked the bus in the first half. Belt-and-braces football.
In 44, Willian’s free-kick was half-cleared and John Terry’s shot took a nick off Eric Dier past Hugo Lloris.
The second goal came in 57, when Fabregas released Diego Costa into the box on the left. Costa evaded Kyle Walker and his narrow –angled shot went in off Walker’s toe, beating Lloris at his near post.
So both goals were deflected shots.
In monsoon conditions, you’ll take any goal. Bottom line, Spurs didn’t have as much collective nous as Chelsea because theirs is a new team and a young team. They were up against seasoned opponents who know how to navigate the difficult moments in a tight match.
It was men and boys, really. Far from the best of Chelsea but good enough to secure Mourinho’s 6th major trophy in English football and the 17th of his career.
Pochettino will reach other finals with Spurs, I think.
When he coached Espanyol in La Liga, one of the young players he helped to develop was Philippe Coutinho, who is now 23 and has just signed a new five-year contract with Liverpool.
Things have been extremely hard for Brendan Rodgers for the last seven months.
Losing Luis Suarez, being without his other goalscorer Daniel Sturridge, who had an injury that needed treatment in the USA, and having to grapple with moody Mario Balotelli – all of that was difficult Having finished a runners-up to Manchester City, Liverpool got bounced out of the Champions League in the Group Stage.Then legendary captain Steven Gerrard said he was leaving.
That’s a lot of big disappointments and challenges for Rodgers and his players to absorb and survive.
While all that was going on, Rodgers has had to find different ways of digging out results. In many ways it’s been a season of strife, and a team in transition, so almost all of Liverpool’s results have been hard-won.
They’ve stuttered a lot but Liverpool define themselves with collective demonstrations of guts and pace and passion.
I love those qualities. That’s why I liked Atletico Madrid so much last season.