Tottenham Hotspur 2 Chelsea 0
It was hard not to feel for Graham Potter. Chelsea’s head coach has dealt with death threats and abuse. By the end of this defeat he was on the receiving end of mockery from Tottenham’s crowing fans, who told Potter he was going to be sacked after Harry Kane had sealed the points for Antonio Conte’s side.
This was another drab, lifeless attacking display from Chelsea, who are being kept out of the bottom half on goal difference alone. They created little and had no reply once Tottenham, who have a grip on fourth place, had taken the lead through the outstanding Oliver Skipp. Kane’s 18th goal of the season soon followed and Chelsea’s season surely now rests on whether they can beat Borussia Dortmund in the last 16 of the Champions League.
The initial sense that Spurs were doing their level best to rebuild Potter’s relationship with Chelsea’s fans would prove misplaced. It was the usual template from the hosts, seven outfield players hanging back, Kane responsible for most of the creativity, and the limitations to the approach soon stood out.
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One lapse of concentration would have left Spurs chasing the game and they would flirt with danger as early as the second minute, anxiety flaring when Chelsea constructed their first attack of note and Raheem Sterling appealed for a penalty after falling under a challenge from Skipp.
Yet Spurs knew that Chelsea, who have scored 23 goals in 24 league games, are uncomfortable against a low block. Solving that lack of bite remains Potter’s most daunting challenge. He would see flashes early on and, having surprised Spurs by using Hakim Ziyech as an auxiliary right wing back, could take encouragement from the flexibility of his team’s movement.
The question, though, was whether Chelsea were picking their way through such a deep defence. Doing so required a level of invention they have rarely displayed of late and, other than the moment when Enzo Fernández almost picked out João Félix with a gorgeous chip, the opening period would pass by with Fraser Forster having to do little besides push away a decent shot from Sterling.
Not that Spurs were much better. They lacked drive with Ben Davies at left wing back and looked reliant on Kane for inspiration. At times the striker was doing it all by himself. Kane was both playmaker and finisher, dropping deep, looking for opportunities to release Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski, and he almost broke through on goal in the 17th minute, duping Reece James with a deft nutmeg before Thiago Silva came across to deny the striker before he could shoot.
It was brilliant defending from Silva but it came at a cost. The 38-year-old overextended himself making the challenge on Kane and, while he tried to battle on, he would soon make way for Wesley Fofana.
Deprived of their defensive leader, Chelsea had to dig deep. Spurs began to push harder and almost went ahead when Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s deflected shot struck the woodwork. Engaged at last, the crowd roared Spurs on. Chelsea could feel their composure slipping away. Fernández, normally so cool on the ball, admonished himself for hitting a pass out for a throw. Ben Chilwell was penalised for a foul throw. James let a simple pass roll under his foot.
At the same time, both teams were growing irritable with some pernickety refereeing from Stuart Attwell. It would reach a farcical note just before half-time. After a melee sparked by Ziyech fouling Richarlison, some preposterous VAR confusion at least gave the fans something to talk about. Kai Havertz and Emerson Royal were booked and then, after an interminable wait, Attwell was told that he needed to check something else.
Ziyech was surely going to go after pushing Royal in the face. Attwell listened, showed a red card, then decided he needed to check the screen. Astonishingly the decision was downgraded to yellow for Ziyech. Spurs could not believe it.
But the worry for Chelsea is that Spurs tend to improve after half-time. So it proved. There was an immediate opening when Kulusevski found space, drew Chilwell towards him and slipped a pass to Royal, whose shot was spilt by Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Chelsea should have survived. But with Arrizabalaga unable to gather the ball, Fernández decided to mop up and clear. Now came Skipp’s moment. He wanted it more than Félix. He shoved the forward aside, advanced and, from 20 yards out, smashed a rising shot in off the underside of the bar.
There was little prospect of Chelsea forcing an equaliser, even with Mason Mount and Denis Zakaria on to give them more drive. A flick from Félix made a chance for Havertz, who was ineffective up front, but Forster was out quickly to smother. Spurs were defiant. Their back three held firm and the points would be theirs eight minutes from time. Son Heung-min took the corner after coming off the bench, Eric Dier rose above Mount and Kane, all alone at the far post, applied the finish.
Chelsea were done. Potter reacted late, introducing Mykhailo Mudryk and even giving Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang a brief run-out. But, with Todd Boehly watching on, nothing worked. – Guardian
