After their dramatic encounter earlier on in the season, Chelsea and Tottenham met again at Stamford Bridge in a tasty Thursday night fixture. After announcing his imminent departure from Chelsea, Brazilian defender Thiago Silva was injured and unavailable for the clash, and youngster Alfie Gilchrist stepped in to replace him. James Maddison dropped to the bench after his lacklustre performance against Arsenal in the North London derby, and Richarlison started up front.
Chelsea started on the front foot and dominated the early stages. Tottenham’s fast-paced, forward-thinking game plan was nowhere to be seen, and they were being suffocated by the Blues. Ange Postecoglou was notably furious with his side’s slow start, and his anger continued when Chelsea deservedly took the lead. After a number of silly fouls were given away by Spurs, they were finally punished in the 24th minute. A Conor Gallagher freekick fell straight onto the head of Trevoh Chalobah, who looped a fine header over Vicario and in. A lengthy VAR check followed, but nothing was given and Chelsea were ahead. Chelsea had more than enough opportunities to double their lead in the first half, but weren’t able to capitalise. Mykhailo Mudryk blasted an effort towards goal, but it flashed wide. Despite Chelsea’s dominance, Tottenham nearly equalised through Cristian Romero, who gave them a lifeline against Arsenal. His header came off the woodwork, and the home team were lucky to still be ahead. The defender was praised heavily by his manager for his performance in the derby. His emphatic pressing and tenacity saw him score an unlikely goal with his feet.
Chalobah Celebrates His Opening Goal
The second half followed the same pattern as the first. Although Tottenham had much more of the ball, Chelsea’s low defensive block was proving impenetrable. The visitors could not forge any meaningful chances, and forwards Heung-Min Son, Richarlison, Brennan Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski were starved of opportunities. Top-scorer Cole Palmer had a chance to continue his golden boot hunt, but the 21-year-old leant back and fired his shot well over. The England star had another chance minutes later. His fine feet and trickery in the box opened up some space, but a last ditch challenge from Emerson Royal stopped him. Chelsea did eventually double their lead, but via a very unorthodox route. Cole Palme found himself over a free-kick in a very useful position. He struck a fine effort which rebounded off of the crossbar, but found itself on the head of Nicolas Jackson.
He did extraordinarily well to loop a header over two onrushing defenders and into the net. Spurs tried to fight back, but weak efforts from Johnson and Richarlison could not come close. A perfect evening for Chelses was capped off when they handed a debut to Josh Acheampong late on, and the youngster slotted in seamlessly at right back. The final whistle soon followed, and a jubilant Stamford Bridge applauded their young blues. It was a fantastic performance by the home team, but a disastrous effort from Tottenham. They now find themselves winless in their last three games.
The win sees Chelsea move into eighth position in the Premier League, above West Ham and two points behind Newcastle United. A European spot, although aspirational, is a target for Pochettino’s men now. They travel to rivals West Ham next, who themselves are in a bit of a rut. For Tottenham, their recent form leaves them seven points adrift of the Champions League places, albeit with a game in hand. They travel to Liverpool on Sunday, in a game which could have been so much more important just a few weeks ago.