MY ACCOUNT
Antonio Conte saw his unbeaten Premier League run as Tottenham boss end on familiar turf as Chelsea claimed a 2-0 derby win at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
A stunning finish from Hakim Ziyech and a Thiago Silva header early in the second half gave the Blues the victory as they became the first team to pass 500 points in London derby matches in the Premier League era.
Silva had earlier been involved in a controversial incident, Harry Kane seeing a goal disallowed at 0-0 after a hand in the back of the defender sent him tumbling to ground.
For Spurs, whose only win in their past 32 away league matches against Chelsea came against Conte’s side in April 2018, it was a first league loss since the 3-0 reverse at home to Manchester United in October that brought Nuno Espirito Santo’s short reign to an end.
Romelu Lukaku passed up the best early openings, slicing a shot over the bar in the first minute and missing the ball from a teasing Mason Mount cross when he should have done better.
Spurs had barely offered a threat until Kane gathered Steven Bergwijn’s low cross and drilled home a finish on the turn, but the goal was was ruled out for a push on Silva.
The visitors were lucky not to go a man down before half-time, though, VAR deeming no further action was needed for a Matt Doherty foul on Malang Sarr and Japhet Tanganga somehow escaping even a free-kick for pulling back the shirt of Callum Hudson-Odoi after previously being booked.
It was Tanganga who was left for dead by Hudson-Odoi a minute after the restart, the winger then teeing up Ziyech to curl a sublime finish into the top-left corner and put Chelsea ahead.
Hugo Lloris denied Ziyech a second soon after as Chelsea ramped up the pressure, with Mount whistling a shot just over the bar from Hudson-Odoi’s cut-back.
The Chelsea winger was proving a real handful for Spurs and, after Eric Dier tripped him down the left wing, the resulting Mount delivery was glanced in via the head of Silva.
What does it mean? Chelsea close on City as Spurs suffer top-four blow
The defeat means Spurs stay seventh, having missed out on the chance to leapfrog Arsenal, West Ham and Manchester United to climb into the top four.
Chelsea move to within 10 points of leaders Manchester City, having played a game more, with Liverpool a point further ahead.
Mercurial Mount
Mount was exceptional on the right of the Chelsea attack as he exploited space whenever Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was dragged out of position trying to break up passing lanes.
The England midfielder created a team-high four chances and found the target with five of nine crosses, including the head of Silva for the second goal.
Conte counts cost of Tanganga inaction
After Tanganga escaped a second yellow card, it looked likely Conte would substitute him at half-time to remove the risk of falling a man behind.
His decision not to proved key to Chelsea’s breakthrough, as he allowed Hudson-Odoi to run clear for fear of being punished for any attempt to halt his run. It was 2-0 before he was finally replaced by Lucas Moura.
Key Opta Facts
– Chelsea have won four games against Tottenham in all competitions this season, making them the first Premier League side to win four games against an opponent in a single campaign since Manchester City against West Ham in 2013-14 and the first to win three games in the same month against an opponent since Aston Villa against Blackburn in January 2010.
– Spurs have failed to score six consecutive meetings with Chelsea. Their goalless run against the Blues stands at 547 minutes since Erik Lamela’s strike in September 2020. This is the first time in their history they have failed to score in six consecutive matches against an opponent.
– No manager to have previously taken charge of Chelsea in the Premier League has won against the Blues at Stamford Bridge in the competition (D7 L14), with Conte becoming the eighth man to try.
– Silva (37 years and 123 days) became the oldest player to score in the Premier League since February 2013, when 39-year-old Ryan Giggs netted against QPR for Manchester United.
What’s next?
Chelsea host Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup on February 5 after their winter break before their Club World Cup campaign begins. Spurs’s fourth-round clash is at home to Brighton and Hove Albion on the same day.
