Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham: 3 things to notice | Premier league 2019-20
Chelsea beat Tottenham comfortably in a fairly one-sided Premier League affair as they overwhelmed Jose Mourinho's side completely. Frank Lampard deployed a system that Spurs failed to handle and they couldn't muster any useful attacks. Chelsea's young players were the key to the result due to their energetic play and their control over the pace of the game.
Willian put in a fantastic performance as he scored a beautiful curler after 12 minutes and finished a penalty just before halftime. The first half was completely dominated by Willian as he was running past every white shirt that came in his way. The second half was more evenly poised; however, the Blues still had the better chances as Mason Mount pressed high and choked them for space. Tottenham just didn't look into the game and were never really in control.
Here, we take a look at three things to notice from the game.
#3. Conservative approach from Chelsea
Frank Lampard, the Chelsea manager, adopted a conservative approach against the Spurs. The Blues started in a 3-4-2-1 formation. Here, Lampard went for Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso as the wingbacks. This showed that Lampard was prioritizing his defense. With three centre-backs, it was clear that Chelsea were finally paying attention to their haywire defense.
While Emerson and James have pace and are better dribblers of the ball, Lampard went for Azpilicueta and Alonso as both were defensively more sound and could defend well in a back five off the ball.
In midfield, N'Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic started in the two midfield spots. The front three featured Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, and Willian. By pushing Mount into an advanced position, Lampard fielded two defensively solid midfielders in a pivot. Moreover, it gave Mount the freedom to roam into free space and move the ball forward. It also allowed Willian to wreak havoc by running through the pitch, past the Spurs' defenders with ease.
Essentially, this approach caught Mourinho by surprise as Chelsea managed to go two goals up by halftime.