FA Cup 2016/17: Chelsea 4-2 Tottenham Hotspur, 5 talking points
The two top sides fighting it out for top honours in the highest tier of the domestic league faced off against each other at Wembley on Saturday evening in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
In what was an end-to-end game and an entertaining watch, Chelsea took the lead thrice, gave it away twice and somehow managed to keep it all together when it mattered most, to qualify for the final. They will face one of Arsenal or Manchester City depending on the outcome of the other semi-final slated for Sunday.
Five minutes into the game, the Blues camp was sent into early celebratory mode courtesy a Willian goal. It was short-lived though, as Harry Kane equalised a few minutes after. Willian scored a penalty to restore the lead but Dele Alli restored parity early in the second half.
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In the last half an hour, Eden Hazard came off the bench to score Chelsea’s third goal of the day and set up Nemanja Matic for the fourth to put the game to bed and out of reach of the Lilywhites.
In this piece, we take a look at the five major points from the game.
#5 Tactics misfire as defensive indiscipline proves costly for Spurs
Mauricio Pochettino’s men thoroughly negated Chelsea’s game plan during the Blues’ visit to White Hart Lane during their Premier League clash at the turn of the year. Not only did they win the game convincingly but also kept a clean sheet against one of the most potent attacking sides. It was a tactical master-class by the Argentine that exposed the gaps in the Blues’ style and also proved that Conte’s side were far from infallible.
At Wembley, Pochettino once again settled for 3 at the back against Chelsea to pack his midfield and retain his attacking trio. However, Conte had included Michy Batshuayi and Willian in the starting line-up at the expense of Diego Costa and Eden Hazard and his gamble certainly paid off.
Michy’s sublime ball to Pedro, which the Spaniard took in his stride, caught Spurs unawares just five minutes in, as a result of which Toby Alderweireld had to make a last-ditch tackle. The Belgian took out Pedro in a shoddy attempt to save an effort on goal but the resulting free kick from Willian gave Chelsea a precious lead.
With the scores tied at 1-1, Heung-Min Son went to ground in the box and appeared to catch Victor Moses’ leg in the clumsiest of circumstances, conceding a penalty.
Past the hour mark, Eric Dier looked on as Hazard scored from a tight angle; the Englishman did not want any part in deflecting it into his own net and thereby shied away, without as much as attempting to turn the ball away.
While organisation and discipline throughout the team were pivotal to Spurs bringing an end to Chelsea’s winning run in the league, the absence of the same tonight proved to be a gift to the Blues.