There were times when Roberto De Zerbi’s frustration threatened to boil over. The Tottenham manager cut a tense figure in his technical area. He bounced around for 90 minutes and let out blasts of fury whenever he saw something that displeased him, but in the end he was able to celebrate leading Spurs to their first win at Stamford Bridge since 2018.
It was not a pretty game. It was not a good game. The breakthrough was a comedy own goal from Mike Penders. The young Belgian goalkeeper, deputising for the injured Emi Martínez, was culpable when Spurs went ahead, flapping at a corner from the excellent Mateus Fernandes and punching the ball into his own net.
Xabi Alonso, who saw his side lose at home for the first time this season, could argue there was an element of fortune to the result. But this was one of Chelsea’s worst performances since appointing the Spaniard in the summer. They were caught out at both ends. Penders’ inexperience proved costly and Chelsea struggled without João Pedro leading the line. It was strange that Alonso did not start Danny Welbeck.
Chelsea were blunt and knew they were beaten when Cole Palmer saw red shortly after the own goal. Mathys Tel soon made it 2-0 to clinch a second consecutive win for Spurs and lift them into 12th place.
If Spurs were to improve on their dismal record in this fixture then they would have to take care of Chelsea’s fast starts under Alonso. The absence of João Pedro helped on that front, forcing Alonso to modify his attack, and the opening exchanges were muted. Both sides lacked someone to hold the ball up and the closest either went to scoring an early goal came when an error from Fernandes led to Antonin Kinsky pushing a shot from Palmer away.
Chelsea never adjusted to their 4-2-4 system. The experiment with Palmer and Morgan Rogers as false 9s left them without an obvious outlet. Pedro Neto was not receiving the ball in good positions on the right and Geovany Quenda, making his first start since joining from Sporting Lisbon, was tentative on the left.
Spurs built confidence, their midfield of Fernandes, Sandro Tonali and James Maddison outplaying and outnumbering Moisés Caicedo and Jordan Henderson. As ever the challenge was finding a clinical touch. There was not enough conviction to Spurs. Mohammed Kudus and Tonali sent hopeful efforts off target. Tel wasted opportunities to run at Josh Acheampong and Omar Marmoush failed to take the best chance of the first half, pinging a shot too close to Penders from Andy Robertson’s cutback.
Marmoush, preferred to Dominic Solanke as Spurs’ No 9, buzzed around but was often gobbled up by Maxence Lacroix and Levi Colwill. But it was a similar story at the other end. Kinsky saved from Henderson after giving the ball away but Chelsea created little before half-time.
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Chelsea 0-2 Tottenham key facts
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• Spurs gained just their second away win in 35 attempts against Chelsea in the Premier League (D11 L22) and their first since April 2018 (3-1).
• Spurs have beaten Chelsea in all competitions at Stamford Bridge while keeping a clean sheet for the first time since December 1986 (also 2-0).
• Chelsea’s Mike Penders (21yrs 85d) is the second-youngest goalkeeper to score an own goal (pictured) in the Premier League, after Illan Meslier (20yrs 354d) for Leeds against Wolves in February 2021.
• Cole Palmer’s sending-off was the 100th red card Chelsea have been shown in the Premier League (excluding rescinded cards), becoming the third team to reach this milestone after Everton (113) and Arsenal (110).
Spurs were comfortable. Too comfortable? Their luck was out at the start of the second half. Maddison, who was a doubt before the game, had played well before making way for Conor Gallagher. Not that there was a response from Chelsea. Fernandes, the best player on the pitch, was running the game for Spurs.
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Chelsea played in random bursts, Neto testing Kinsky, and a flurry of changes followed. Solanke and Pedro Porro for Marmoush and Robertson were positive moves from Spurs, while the home fans were happy to see Estêvão come on for Quenda.
Estêvão was soon involved, bursting in from the right and shooting into the side netting. The temperature had risen, Chelsea fired up after a clash between Palmer and Fernandes led to some aggro between the benches. But with the quality so low it was fitting that the opening goal arrived in farcical circumstances.
Austin MacPhee, Chelsea’s set-piece coach, was busy telling four home players to stay high when Spurs won a corner in the 77th minute. The box emptied out, Fernandes delivered from the left and Penders got his angles horribly wrong. The 21-year-old, who struggled in the air when Chelsea beat Leeds in the Carabao Cup last month, was thrown by a challenge from Jan Paul van Hecke and watched in horror when his weak punch spun into his empty net to give Spurs a shock lead.
Chelsea were still coming to their senses when any hope of a comeback disappeared. Palmer, on a booking after his row with Fernandes, could have no complaints when he received a second yellow for a lunge on Gallagher. It was Chelsea’s first red card of the season and came a day after Alonso had spoken about emotional control helping his side improve their disciplinary record.
Not here. Down to 10 men, Chelsea faded. It was over when Tel skipped in from the left and clinched the points for Spurs with a crisp low shot from 20 yards.
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