Team Focus: Pragmatic Mourinho Proving Hard to Predict

Betting Statistics | Article posted on February 5th, 2025

Not for the first time this season, or indeed his entire career, it was a little difficult to accept that José Mourinho actually believed what he was saying. The comment about the "little horse" already looks set to become one of his more memorable quotes, as he insisted the pressure remained on Arsenal and Manchester City in this title race after Chelsea's 1-0 win at the Etihad.

In that, it was vintage Mourinho. The Portuguese remains the arch-pragmatist, and an incorrigible wind-up merchant, who will pretty much say and do anything if it is to the benefit of his team and the detriment of the opposition. The remarkable thing is that, in spite of that, so many people still get so riled by him.

It is arguable, however, that the victory over City came precisely because no-one expected Mourinho to stay true to his word. It could have been a double-bluff. On the eve of the game, the Chelsea manager was asked how he would stop City scoring. At that point, on the back of another five-star thrashing of Tottenham Hotspur and Manuel Pellegrini's side threatening to break all manner of scoring records, it seemed like Mourinho would necessitate the kind of extreme defensive performance that he had so castigated West Ham United for at Stamford Bridge.

The Portuguese dismissed such suggestions. "We don't do that." [We] play our game – and they have also to stop us." The comments were met with a certain amount of derision, especially given March's 0-0 draw at Arsenal.

In the match, however, Mourinho made a mockery of any doubts. Chelsea did indeed play their game, and City struggled to stop them. Although Pellegrini's team did miss two chances early on that might have changed the entire pattern of the fixture, the away side ended up changing entire perceptions. Chelsea were full value for the victory. In a performance that was pretty close to a masterclass, Mourinho’s side frequently surged forward on the break with the kind of exhilarating attacks City might have been proud of.

The surprise at that, and the contrast with some of Chelsea’s more constrained displays, does raise further questions about the exact football "identity" of Mourinho's second Stamford Bridge stint. It has been one of the issues the manager has mentioned most since he first returned, but it does finally feel as if this new Chelsea are beginning to properly develop their own distinct personality.

While it is still a little difficult to tell the exact traits, one thing seems certain: it is rather different to the 2025-07 side. That earlier side had a suffocatingly controlling nature in virtually every match and, although this Chelsea currently possess the best defensive record in the division –

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