Tottenham Hotspur 0-2 Chelsea
The master versus the apprentice.
Master 0-2 Apprentice. And that truly surprised me.
Jose Mourinho’s resurgent Tottenham knew victory would take them into fourth place at the expense of Chelsea, who had lost four of their previous five games.
And I expected a home Premier League win with something to spare. How wrong I was!
In a match which will sadly be remembered for alleged racist behaviour emanating from the stands and supposedly aimed at visiting defender Antonio Rudiger, I am going to focus on the football and a wonderful result for Frank Lampard’s Chelsea.
Highlights of the game
Ultimately, the match was won by a player who will go down as one of Mourinho’s best signings – for Chelsea.
Brazilian Willian, captured in late August 2013, superbly curled home the opener early on and then stroked home a penalty in first half stoppage time after Spurs keeper Paulo Gazzaniga had fouled Marcos Alonso.
Job done for Chelsea who were on top form and Spurs, who were well below par throughout, never looked like staging a comeback, especially once Son Heung-Min had been sent-off just past the hour mark for a raised foot on Rudiger.
The hosts were furious as the German defender overreacted to the challenge and it was that incident that sparked the alleged racist abuse.
Referee Anthony Taylor also stopped play after an object was thrown on to the pitch.
Spurs had began the contest as slight favourites, showing traits of winners in recent weeks and Mourinho’s influence with a last-gasp winner at Wolves last weekend.
But it was Chelsea who produced the Premier League highlights of the day and boosted their SBOBET Premier League betting odds in the process and, crucially, their chances of a top four finish with.
Taking charge of your arch rivals was always going to provoke a reaction from Chelsea fans and this was Mourinho’s first home defeat against a team he had previously managed, having won 12 and drawn one of the previous 13 across all competitions.
Yet long before the end of the game the focus had switched to unsavoury goings-on elsewhere.
Chelsea, hoping to strengthen in January window after having their transfer ban lifted, are in fourth spot with a bit of daylight.
Lampard would surely have taken that at the start of the season.
Key statistics
Chelsea have had 53 different Premier League goalscorers against Tottenham (excluding own goals), more than any other side has had against a particular opponent.
Having beaten Spurs at White Hart Lane and Wembley, Chelsea have become the first club to win a Premier League away game against the same club at three different venues.
Tottenham have won four of their six Premier League games under Mourinho, more victories than in their final 15 matches under Mauricio Pochettino.
Spurs are winless in 11 league fixtures against opposition from the established top six since they beat Chelsea at Wembley in November 2018 (drawn three, lost eight). Eight of those games were away.
Chelsea have won three consecutive games against Spurs across all competitions for the first time since January 2008 – Mourinho oversaw two of the three wins in that previous run (2-1 in March 2007 and 1-0 in April 2007).
Willian’s penalty was Chelsea’s 100th Premier League goal against Tottenham – in the history of the competition, only Manchester United against Everton (101), Liverpool against Newcastle (101) and Arsenal against Everton (107) have scored more goals against a single opponent.
Chelsea kept an away clean sheet for the first time under Lampard in the Premier League, while they won without conceding away from home in the competition for the first time in a year.
Willian has scored just the second brace of his Premier League career (215 appearances), with his last coming in December 2016 against Stoke City.
No team has won more Premier League London derby matches than Chelsea (129, one ahead of Arsenal).
Son Heung-Min is the first player to be sent off three times in a calendar year in the Premier League since Lee Cattermole in 2010. Although one of the South Korean’s dismissals was subsequently rescinded.
What’s next?
Spurs are at home again when they host Brighton on Boxing Day and then have a trip to East Anglia to face Norwich two days later followed by a trip to the south coast to meet Southampton on New Year’s Day.
Chelsea also meet Southampton and Brighton over the festive period with a visit to their other North London rivals, Arsenal, sandwiched in between.
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