8 December 2024
Tottenham 3 Chelsea 4
It was a London derby with plenty of rivalry as Tottenham welcomed Chelsea to North London. Postecoglou’s side have been playing in the classic Spurs mould this season, beat the best, lose to the rest. The visitors went into this game sat second in the table, their highest position in the Premier League for some three years. That said, there is still a long way to go in this season.
Spurs came into this game having only won one of their last six games in all competitions. That solitary game was where they destroyed the champions in their own back yard. The greatest intellectual minds could not work out why Tottenham have this aura about them that makes them so inconsistent, it is a real life Jekyll and Hyde situation.
The big surprise before kick-off was both Romero and van de Ven starting for the hosts. There had been no talk about either of them being close to first team action after their extensive lay-offs. It was just the pick me up Spurs fans needed after their abject display on the south coast in midweek against Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth.
On the Chelsea front, Maresca is still having to cope with the crazy spending before he arrived. Sometimes price tags do dictate your selections. He has obviously seen something he likes in Lavia, either in training or recent games, but when you pay over £100m for a player they need to play. As a result, Caicedo slotted in at right back for the game.
The one noticeable point in this game was that the first half performance of The Blues’ defence was brought to you by Comedy Central and Marc Cucurella. The ball was played to him early on in his own half with no one around him. He slipped and ended up on his backside as Johnson took the ball and darted down the right wing.
He whipped in a cross and Solanke attacked the near post to slot home into an empty net. The reason there was no keeper was the fact that Sanchez was five yards behind him, expecting to collect a ball that never reached him. The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium erupted as they took the lead with only five minutes on the clock.
When people say ‘lightning doesn’t strike twice’ apparently it does in Spain. The ball was played to Cucurella, who slipped over again, Tottenham worked it into Kulusevski who fired a shot off from the edge of the box. He beat Sanchez in the bottom corner to double the hosts’ lead. With just over ten minutes gone, Spurs had a two-goal lead. Chelsea’s left-back had two assists but no FPL manager will see points for that.
What was even more comedic, he then went to change his boots and tore into the kitman for what was going on in the game. Sideshow Bob at his finest with Bart Simpson as kit man it seems. Irrelevant to the length of the studs on his boots, the Spaniard falls into the genre of defenders you would say is great going forward but terrible in defence.
Just as it seemed Chelsea were sinking without a trace, Sancho cut inside from the left and got a shot away from the edge of the box. It arrowed into the bottom corner to give The Blues a lifeline. Moments later Caicedo put in a heavy challenge on Sarr, catching the player halfway up his shin. To any normal person, this was a stonewall red card, that’s not how VAR play though.
After taking an age to check it, their decisions was ‘force was not excessive enough’. Spurs continued to pile forward and Sarr won a header at the near post from a corner, only to see his effort come thundering back off the crossbar. This game was pure entertainment in North London, although Kulusevski was lucky to not see red also for catching Lavia with his elbow before the break.
After the interval, the visitors piled on the pressure. Forster made a goal save to deny Sancho a goal. The hosts were struggling to contain Chelsea. Caicedo skipped past Bissouma who scythed down the Ecuadorian. The referee immediately pointed to the spot. Palmer stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way to draw Maresca’s side level.
Son had a big chance to restore the lead as Chelsea’s defence stopped claiming for an offside flag. The Spurs skipper ran through on goal but got his finish all wrong and he sliced it wide of the target. Not what we are used to seeing from the South Korean. He held his head in his hands, knowing what a chance that was to score.
Spurs paid the price as Palmer worked his magic before feeding the ball into the path of Fernandez. He hit it first time into the bottom corner to silence the Tottenham fans as he gave Chelsea the lead. With under twenty minutes remaining, the visitors had completely turned this game on its head. They were now in the driving seat to win this.
The hosts kept on throwing players forward trying to score. As one move broke down, Chelsea countered and exposed that high defensive line. Palmer was bundled over in the box and another penalty was awarded. He stepped up and hit a Panenka down the middle of the goal to surely seal victory for The Blues.
With seven minutes of added time, even the staunchest of Spurs fan could not see a way back into this. Son had a chance but Sanchez closed him down and blocked the effort. Porro then tried his luck and it deflected wide of the post for a corner. Maddison cut it back from the byline after the short corner for the Spurs skipper to slot home.
It was all too little too late as Chelsea took the three points. What is more worrying for Spurs is that both Romero and van de Ven came off injured in their first games back from long-term lay-offs. Maresca’s side remained second in the table, two points clear of Arsenal in third. Postecoglou’s side now sit eleventh in the Premier League table.
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