There was an awful lot of nothing in Chelsea’s goalless draw with Tottenham Hotspur. Some good nothing. Some not so good nothing. Some nothing that, ultimately, both managers would have travelled home content with.
They set out two teams that were not afraid to play, but were definitely afraid to lose. Not necessarily an unwise approach, when the points shared leaves them both in the top three – only two points separating leaders Spurs and second place Liverpool with Chelsea – but not one that will likely ever be remembered beyond the 90 minutes, stoppage time, the post-match interviews, the highlights shows and the brief day-after chatter.
A particularly wise approach from Mourinho’s perspective. Spurs went top three weeks ago after a narrow win against West Bromwich Albion and here they are, top still, after matches against Manchester City and Chelsea.
At Stamford Bridge were two contrasting styles, seemingly cancelling each other out. Lampard’s conservative patience countering Mourinho’s resolute counterattacking.
From Chelsea, there was a lot of Ben Chilwell – Timo Werner – Chilwell – Mason Mount – Chilwell – Thiago Silva – Kurt Zouma – Reece James – etc – etc – then repeat in reverse with a few different players in the excruciating passages of short passing from left to right and left again, then right.
Silva’s brutal no-look pass back to his own goalkeeper, Edouard Mendy, under pressure from Moussa Sissoko, was probably the highlight of the first 45 minutes, and it took place 90 yards away from their opponent’s goal.
From Spurs, there was a lot of what Mourinho has made great about this side: the renewed level of organisation and robustness, the interconnectivity and understanding.
Tanguy Ndombele’s clever skills and turns carrying the ball out of Tottenham’s half. His dribble seemingly through Silva and N’Golo Kante.
Harry Kane 2.0: spraying cross-field passes to left and right, the deft touch into Steven Bergwijn’s path, producing the only real chance of the first half that Bergwijn fired fractionally over Mendy’s crossbar. Bergwijn: confident, nimble and slippery.
All great to watch, yet all, equally, producing very little, if anything.
The same continued into the second half. Two almost identical, dangerous James crosses into Tottenham’s penalty area in the space of five minutes, two almost identical misses of the ball by Tammy Abraham as he ran and leapt to meet them.
When Abraham missed a third headed chance from Timo Werner’s cross it would have been fascinating to be inside the head of Olivier Giroud, the French striker sat in Chelsea’s dugout, probably thinking about all the headers he’s scored in his lengthy career.
Giroud was introduced with 10 minutes remaining on the clock as both managers tried to make something out of the nothing. Lampard perhaps trying harder. Christian Pulisic and Kai Havertz joined Giroud for Chelsea. Mourinho turned to the creative Giovani Lo Celso, then replaced Bergwijn for Ben Davies, swapping attacker for defender.
As Spurs produced a rare second-half attack and Lo Celso tried something clever but instead floated the ball aimlessly wide, yet more potential turned to nothing, Mourinho burst from his dugout, furious.
All the good nothingness bred frustration on the touchlines, the complaints all the more audible in the Covid vacuum created in the stadiums of today’s football.
Mourinho and his staff and the Spurs bench were furious when James blocked the path of the advancing Sergio Reguilon with what they thought was a hand in the face. Lampard and Co thought differently.
Then Lampard and his staff and the Chelsea bench were angered when a promising break, with Werner attacking at pace in Tottenham’s half, was halted by referee Paul Tierney calling an off-the-ball foul on Eric Dier. Mourinho and Co thought differently.
There were the two significant saves, of course. Mendy down low and stretching to his right from Serge Aurier’s shot from the edge of Chelsea’s box. Hugo Lloris down low and stretching to his left to keep out Mason Mount’s dive from a similar distance.
A strange symmetry to the chances: the range, the height, the keeper’s dive, the fact they did nothing to change the course of the game.
Two chances that would not have made the highlights reel of most other matches, but stood out amongst the nothingness.
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from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3qapfkp
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