Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Chelsea: 3 takeaways
Tottenham defeated Chelsea 3-1 at the Wembley yesterday to move into the 3rd position in the Premier League table. Tottenham now have 30 points from 13 matches whereas Chelsea dropped to 4th position with 28 points from the same number of matches. Delle Alli and Harry Kane scored for Tottenham to put them 2-0 ahead before the half time.
Son Heung-Min increased the deficit with a brilliant solo effort in the second half before Olivier Giroud pulled one back for Chelsea in the 85th minute. Chelsea would, however, consider themselves unlucky as they were not given a penalty after Eden Hazard was fouled inside the Tottenham box in the first half.
Chelsea dominated possession with more than 60% of it, but Tottenham were more incisive and clinical in their approach. They had 9 shots on target while Chelsea could only manage 2. Maurizio Sarri’s side looked inept at times and it would be very surprising if they manage to win the league from here. Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham side, on the other hand, looked very lively and effective and could pose a serious challenge to Man City and Liverpool for the league title.
We would take a look at 3 talking points from the match:
#1 Tottenham defended in large numbers and counter-attacked brilliantly:
For the majority of the match, Tottenham had 4-5 players inside their own penalty ox while defending the Chelsea attacks. They always had numerical superiority over Chelsea inside their own half and hardly allowed the Chelsea players any space. Moussa Sissoko had a great match in the Spurs midfield and made a number of strong challenges and interceptions.
Moreover, players like Christian Eriksen curbed their attacking instincts to some extent and dropped down to their own half to stop attacks and originate moves. Both the 2nd and 3rd goals scored by Tottenham came through such brilliant counter-attacking moves.
Harry Kane and Son, respectively, were provided with quick passes from inside Tottenham’s own half and both of them finished brilliantly. Son scored his 50th goal in his 153rd match for the Spurs.
Toby Alderweireld and Juan Foyth, the Tottenham Centre-backs, were also very solid and right-back Serge Aurier had a wonderful game. They contained Eden Hazard very effectively and none of the other Chelsea players could pose a serious threat. Eric Dier was also great as a defensive midfielder and helped Sissoko in wresting the initiative in the midfield.