Jose Mourinho has revealed his entire victorious game plan against Manchester United was almost ditched, after he picked up a last minute rumour Marouane Fellaini may not start for the Reds.

Mourinho adopted a defensive strategy against United at Stamford Bridge, with youngster Kurt Zouma detailed to take the big Belgian out of the game.

The ploy paid off, with a break from the Blues resulting in an Eden Hazard goal – and Chelsea going 10 points clear at the top of the league.

But, after the game, Mourinho recounted a tale that showed both the way misinformation can change a game, and how his own cunning overcame it.

Over to Mourinho: “Let me tell a good story to these guys. I wake up this morning, I come down and the doorman in the hotel tells me 'Fellaini doesn't play'.”

The Blues boss then recounted the conversation between him and the doorman...

Mourinho: “Why?”

Doorman: “Fellaini doesn't play because he was here to get tickets for the game from Eden Hazard. He was dressed in jeans, this and that. I ask him 'what do you want to do here?' He told me 'I am Fellaini and I come to get tickets from my friend Eden Hazard. So to be here, in the morning, he's not playing.”

Mourinho: “Good grief, why he doesn't play?”

Shackled: Manchester United's Marouane Fellaini in action with Chelsea's Kurt Zouma

Mourinho admitted that he smelt a rat at these comments and a phone helped put it right.

“Didn't smell well for me. I go to Google (on phone, gestures) and I put 'Fellaini brother'. Images. The guy is the same.

“But he took a lot of pictures in the hotel with people. People were asking and he was taking pictures with the people. 'I'm Fellaini'.

“So I go with the pictures to the doorman. I say 'hey, this one or this one?”

“And he looks 'this one'. (Mourinho) Good grief, he's the brother'.”

Having done the detective work, Mourinho played Zouma for 90 minutes and stuck with his original plan – seeing Fellaini almost entirely silenced.

Chelsea can now win the Premier League before the end of April, should they beat Arsenal at The Emirates and Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.