Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham (Chalobah 24’, Jackson 72’)
STAMFORD BRIDGE – Ange Postecoglou, almost hoarse, has rarely been such a ball of blistering fury. Given the number of avid Harry Potter fans in the Tottenham dressing room, perhaps it might be time to employ a Defence against the Dark Arts teacher. Or at the very least, a set-piece coach.
This time it was Marc Cucurella with the ploy, a light shove on Brennan Johnson opening up space for Conor Gallagher’s free-kick to find Trevoh Chalobah, who headed the opener over Guglielmo Vicario.
Tottenham are failing to learn their lessons, becoming a caricature of their own shortcomings as their Champions League hopes fizzle out. It remains one win here for the Lilywhites in 34 years and the seven-point gap to Aston Villa in fourth looks increasingly insurmountable with Liverpool and Manchester City still to play.
The naivety that once charmed their supporters prompted a smattering of boos and some early exits from the away end. They have conceded 16 goals from set pieces this season. Postecoglou concedes he is “not interested” in them and in turn, Spurs concede – again and again.
Now we are in the era of “vibes” football, but it was only a rapturous home end celebrating as Cole Palmer’s free-kick ricocheted off the underside of the bar before Nicolas Jackson headed it in for Chelsea’s second.
Jackson relishes a London derby against Tottenham but in the reverse fixture, Spurs fans applauded their team off the pitch despite his hat-trick and a 4-1 defeat. That is partly testament to the emotional damage of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte’s reigns, but the flaws of the current dogma first came under serious scrutiny in the 2-2 draw with Everton in February and Spurs’ defensive frailties have worsened since then.
That was not what irked Postecoglou the most. The brunt of his wrath was felt well before the first goal, screaming at Cristian Romero and Pape Matar Sarr to “pass forward” – the first time since April 2022 Spurs have failed to muster a first half shot on target in consecutive Premier League matches.
Instead it was Mykhailo Mudryk who poured up the pitch, seizing on Sarr’s sloppiness. When the breakthrough came, the only dampener was the ludicrously lengthy VAR check, first for offside, then for the alleged foul by Cucurella. Neither warranted it being chalked off and Chalobah deserved the goal, starting at centre-back in the absence of Thiago Silva and Axel Disasi.
Romero was also guilty of putting Spurs’ best effort wide when he had to score. Micky van de Ven was his usual, ubiquitous presence at the back, flying in to clear Jackson’s effort off the line after it had beaten Vicario. Two brief flash points between Jackson and Romero awoke the spirit of the famous, cantankerous “Battle of the Bridge” that ended Tottenham’s hopes in 2015-16 and which took place here exactly eight years ago.
Now the question is whether Spurs still have the fight in them.
Something needed to change after the north London derby defeat and dropping James Maddison before his introduction around the hour mark was a significant statement.
At a time when the England midfielder should be making a run to impress Gareth Southgate, it is now seven games without a goal or assist.
The stakes are ostensibly not so high for Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea, which meant the Argentine cut a considerably more relaxed figure than his opposite number, beaming in the tunnel as he greeted his former colleagues. European qualification is still a possibility. All the more reason for him to smile.
Pochettino is nonetheless still battling for his job after a year of mediocrity and will have been determined to show signs of progress between now and the end of the campaign ahead of an internal review that will take place this summer.
A Gallagher assist will have done no harm and Pochettino will be desperate for him to stay – so too the Chelsea fans, who unfurled a giant tifo of their academy product reading “Chelsea since birth”. It was a fabulous night for the academy, the average age of the bench just 18 years and six months. All of them will know what a victory over Tottenham means – particularly ones with such serious implications for their rivals’ top-four hopes.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/PrsTzqj
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