EPL

Tottenham 3 Chelsea 1: Spurs end Blues unbeaten run to claim London bragging right

Tottenham left Maurizio Sarri’s unbeaten record as Chelsea boss in tatters as they stormed to a 3-1 derby win at Wembley.

Dele Alli’s sixth goal in this fixture got Spurs off to a flyer and Harry Kane made it 2-0 in the 16th minute.

Son Heung-min was a menace to a ramshackle Chelsea defence throughout and brought up his 50th goal in Tottenham colours with a sublime 54th-minute solo effort.

Olivier Giroud’s late header from Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross could not stop Mauricio Pochettino’s men leapfrogging Chelsea to go third in the Premier League, five points shy of leaders Manchester City on 30 points.

Spurs swarmed all over Chelsea from kick-off and had their reward in the eighth minute when Alli headed Christian Eriksen’s delightful free-kick beyond Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Son then blazed over and Kepa produced a superb save to deny the South Korea international.

The world’s most expensive goalkeeper will look back at events from the 16th minute less favourably as David Luiz squirmed out of the way of Kane’s speculative drive and Kepa remained static as the ball zipped past him.

25 – Harry Kane has scored 25 goals in Premier League London derbies for Tottenham, a haul only Teddy Sheringham can better for the club (32). Capital. pic.twitter.com/GZiTtEryvZ

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 24, 2018
In between the goals, Spurs defender Juan Foyth was fortunate not to be punished for clumsily challenging Eden Hazard in the area.

Son curled just over on a rampaging break before Kepa repelled his volley in first-half stoppage time following Eriksen’s superb chipped pass.

Willian had a strike deflected over as Chelsea showed signs of life early in the second period, only for Son to bring the house down.

The effervescent Tottenham forward had plenty to do when Alli fed the ball to him down the right flank, but he comfortably outstripped Jorginho and was barely troubled by David Luiz’s ineffectual presence on his way to arrowing a crisp finish into the bottom corner.

Kane and Alli should have added further goals before substitute Giroud found scant consolation for a well-beaten Chelsea.

What does it mean? Pochettino underlines his brilliance

Manchester City are seemingly streaking off in pursuit of more records, with Liverpool remorselessly gegenpressing in pursuit. Throw in the excitement of bright new eras at Arsenal and Chelsea and it has been easy to cast a gloomy outlook over Tottenham. No new players, a delay in opening their new stadium and a faltering Champions League campaign have all contributed. But Pochettino has built a wonderful, formidable team that should never be underestimated. Sarri discussed the gap Chelsea have to make up on City this week. On this evidence becoming the best team in London, never mind the country, is a very tall order.

All-action Son reaches landmark in style

Eriksen’s genial craft and Son’s relentless running were a disorientating combination that Chelsea never effectively combated. The brilliant third goal will be long remembered by the Spurs faithful, not least because it seemed to neatly encapsulate all of Son’s considerable qualities – pace, tirelessness, intelligence and a clinical edge.

Passion. #COYS pic.twitter.com/EkgK52eo1e

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) November 24, 2018
David Luiz has one of those David Luiz games

There can be little doubt over David Luiz’s considerable capabilities but there are few more maddening footballers in this era. This was a display right out of his Brazil v Germany in the 2014 World Cup semi-final playbook. His contributions to the second and third Tottenham goals were, frankly, pathetic.

Key Opta stats
– Tottenham have won three of their last four Premier League games against Chelsea (L1), as many as they had in their previous 20 against them in the competition (W3 D9 L8).
– Spurs have won consecutive league games against Chelsea for the first time since August 1987.
– Since Mauricio Pochettino has been in charge, Tottenham have won more Premier League London derby matches than any other side (22).
– Olivier Giroud became only the second player in Premier League history to score 20 goals as a substitute after Jermain Defoe (24).

What’s next

Tottenham will continue their attempt at Champions League escapology when Inter visit Wembley on Wednesday, with Chelsea entertaining PAOK 24 hours later.

What do you think?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Related Articles

Back to top button
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x