There have been little glimpses of the old Jose Mourinho of late. Not “the enemy of football” by any stretch but enough barbed comments and touchline histrionics to suggest the rebranded “happy one” has not reformed entirely.

The wealth of Manchester City and the acclaim being given to Manuel Pellegrini appear two particularly bug-bears, and enough provocation for the impassioned celebrations that flowed from the Chelsea manager at the Etihad Stadium.

Unlike at Stamford Bridge last year there was a handshake between the former Real Madrid coaches turned managers of the richest financial fair play students in the Premier League. But there was another victory for Chelsea to cherish, one that brought them level with second-placed City in the table and illustrated yet again Mourinho’s prowess in tailoring his team to the occasion.

Pellegrini stubbornly refused to alter a formation that has swept all before it at home this season, despite Chelsea’s ascendancy in midfield and on the break. The result was City’s first blank in the league at the Etihad since November 2010 as Mourinho, who made a pointed reference to Pellegrini’s miscalculation in the Champions League group phase ahead of the game, selected the perfect line-up to profit. It always helps to have a managerial feud at the top of the Premier League, where every perceived slight gains added significance.

The Chilean may have fuelled the last spat when he refused to shake the Chelsea manager’s hand following City’s 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge in October, a snub that stemmed from Mourinho’s wild celebrations in front of the visitor’s dugout after Fernando Torres’s last-gasp winner.

Otherwise the relationship has reflected their contrasting personalities; the calculating Mourinho versus the considered Pellegrini, with the latter on the receiving end of several withering put-downs for his perceived one-season failure at Real Madrid.

Record haul
Real collected a then club record haul of 96 points under Pellegrini in 2009-10 but it was not enough to break the dominance of Barcelona, to produce an improvement in the Champions League or to preserve the head coach's job. Pellegrini decamped to Malaga, Mourinho took his place at the Bernabeu and was asked before the Chilean's return to the Spanish capital whether he feared the same fate as his predecessor. "No," Mourinho replied, "Because if I get sacked here I won't go to Malaga; I will go to a big club."

Pellegrini’s team were a distant second best in the first half at the Etihad Stadium. And how Mourinho revelled in his tactical triumph. The only regret for the Chelsea manager at the interval was that his side lacked the clinical touch to match.

Respect was paid to City's formidable attacking strength in the form of the resigned Nemanja Matic lining up alongside David Luiz in the centre of Chelsea's deep midfield.

Sat deep too
The visitors' back four sat deep too but any suggestion Mourinho's "19th century football" attack on a defensive West Ham United would look hypocritical was misplaced as Chelsea countered superbly in numbers. "You're worse than Allardyce," the City supporters goaded.

City’s front two of Edin Dzeko and Alvaro Negredo were isolated after an initially promising start from the home side, when Yaya Toure carried the greatest threat to Chelsea and twice went close before setting up David Silva for a narrow miss from close range.

Increasingly, however, Matic and David Luiz nullified City’s probing passes and Willian began to dismantle Martin Demichelis, City’s makeshift holding midfielder in place of the injured Fernandinho. The breakthrough had been coming when Branislav Ivanovic’s left foot swept Chelsea into a merited lead and only the woodwork prevented Samuel Eto’o, Matic and Gary Cahill from extending it. Pellegrini stood impassively in the technical area. Mourinho, by contrast, was increasingly animated at his side’s failure to inflict further damage on City. If it was a surprise that Pellegrini waited until the 55th minute to make a change, it was second to the sound of supporters berating a City team with 72 goals in 18 home matches this season for their shortcomings in attack.

Guardian Service