Tottenham‘s Carabao Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea happened just over a week ago but much has happened since the two rivals last went head-to-head.
Thomas Tuchel might have hoped that a 3-0 aggregate victory which propelled Chelsea into yet another final would have led to an uptick in form in the league, but his side have taken just one point from their last two matches against Manchester City and Brighton.
In contrast, Tottenham had last weekend off following the Premier League’s decision to postpone the north London derby at Arsenal’s request before enjoying an exhilarating and barely logical comeback win against Leicester in midweek.
Considering how routine Chelsea’s win over two legs was against Spurs, it would be premature to suggest that the “big gap” as Antonio Conte put it, between the two has already narrowed. But Spurs will approach the game in better spirits than their hosts and in Harry Kane, have a world-class striker playing like a world-class striker.
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Sargent stunner sets Norwich on their way to crucial win at Watford - ratings and analysis21 January, 2022At the King Power Stadium, Kane took turns reprising his various stages of evolution in the space of 97 frantic minutes. In the early Mauricio Pochettino days, Kane was renowned for the sheer volume of shots he fired off; in both the 2015-16 and 2017-18 seasons, he had exactly 40 more shots than any other player in the league. Against Leicester, he had 10 attempts on goal for the first time in a league game since 2017. It was one more than he managed in his first five league appearances under Nuno Espirito Santo combined.
The through pass to Steven Bergwijn for his 97th-minute winner that was weighted with surgical precision, meanwhile was more like the Kane that scooped last season’s Playmaker of the Year award, given to the player with the most assists. And there was the vocal leader, more obviously recognisable in England’s three lions. Kane rallied and cajoled his teammates at 2-1 down, sprinted back into his own penalty area to try and prevent a Leicester goal and was effusive in his post-match appraisal of Bergwijn’s dramatic impact.
Most strikers would consider a goal and assist a job well done, but Kane admitted that the unsuccessful shots (he hit the bar, the post, had an effort cleared off the line and blazed a one-on-one over) would play on his mind even amidst the post-match hysteria. Bergwijn was the game’s most decisive player, but Kane was its best; it was the sharpest he has looked in years, which is a ringing endorsement of Antonio Conte’s training ground methods.
While Kane is getting into his groove following a sticky start, Romelu Lukaku’s season appears to be drifting in the opposite direction. Lukaku’s dominance of the unsuspecting Pablo Mari on his second debut for Chelsea was so blatant that the Spaniard was never seen again in the Premier League. Earlier this week, Arsenal sent the wounded defender to Udinese on loan, presumably never to be seen or heard of again.
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The Belgian followed a debut goal at the Emirates with a lively display at Anfield and three goals in matches against Aston Villa and Zenit St Petersburg. At that stage, Lukaku looked every inch the heavyweight No 9 that a Champions League winning squad had apparently lacked. He was the focal point around whom a team packed full of nimble wide forwards and gliding playmakers would naturally gravitate. It hasn’t quite panned out like that, though.
Although spot-kick specialist Jorginho is the only Chelsea player to score more goals than Lukaku, there is an obvious disconnect between him and his teammates. None of Kai Havertz, Mason Mount, Timo Werner or any of Chelsea’s galaxy of attackers has clicked with Lukaku as Lautaro Martinez, his foil at Inter, did and frustration at the situation is beginning to build. In December, Lukaku blamed Tuchel’s system for his woes; after Saturday’s defeat against City, Tuchel sniped back, lamenting his striker’s decision-making.
“He had many ball losses without any pressure, many ball losses in very promising circumstances,” Tuchel said. “He had a huge chance. We want to serve him, but he is part of the team, and the performance up front, particularly in the first half, we can do much, much better.”
More than most, Conte will be watching the Lukaku situation with interest. The Italian’s spell at Chelsea unravelled in part due to the club’s failure to recruit Lukaku from Everton in 2017. And once it became clear that he and other key players were expendable at Inter last summer due to financial constraints, Conte took off with a Serie A medal tucked safely away in his front pocket.
For as long as he is a Spurs player, Kane will be integral to how the team operates and it is no surprise that his improved form has coincided with a nine-game unbeaten league run under Conte. Tuchel and Lukaku need to strike upon similar synergy if Chelsea are to improve their faltering league form.
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