When Jose Mourinho returned to Chelsea in 2013, one of the shrewdest pieces of business the Portuguese manager pulled off was snatching Willian from Tottenham Hotspur’s grasp as they lined up a move for the Brazilian. The winger played a vital role as Mourinho won the Premier League for the third time, but on Sunday afternoon that astute transfer snatch came back to bite the current Tottenham Hotspur manager.
Willian was at his unplayable best, as he converted two goals in what was possibly the most comfortable match Chelsea have played against Tottenham Hotspur in recent years. The hosts managed one shot on target and by that stage in the game, the three points were long gone. Willian had already stolen not just the points, but the show as well, on top of his brace the Brazilian ace made a mockery of Spurs defence playing five key passes for teammates, the same as the rest of the Chelsea squad combined.
Furthermore, no midfielder played more passes than Willian’s 56, 91.1 per cent of which found another Chelsea player. Every type of pass he tried was meticulous, as the master craftsman scarcely put a foot wrong all afternoon, sumptuously spraying passes to any Blues player within his vision.
It is easy to be fooled with Willian that he is all about subtle neat passes and cute flicks, but when he turns it on as he did against Tottenham he is ruthlessly efficient at exploiting opposition weaknesses, just as Serge Aurier discovered. Showing him inside onto his right foot is the footballing equivalent of offering Deontay Wilder a free punch to your temple; there is only one outcome and Spurs received a knockout blow. Flat on the canvas Tottenham may have made the count, but the fight was never in doubt.
Paulo Gazzaniga made a horrendous error of judgment. Willian dispatched the subsequent penalty and the only part of the contest which came into question was whether the Brazilian would come away with a hattrick. Unfortunately, he had to settle for a brace, but he moves just one goal behind Gabriel Jesus on the top-scoring Brazilians in Premier League history, fourth on the list overall. Others may disagree, but Willian has a strong case as the greatest Brazilian ever to grace the Premier League and Jose Mourinho got a reminder on Sunday.
