Tottenham Hotspur 0-3 Chelsea: 5 talking points as Chelsea's amazing run continues | English Premier League 2021-22
It was super Sunday as Chelsea visited the Tottenham Hotspur stadium to face their London rivals. Both teams had made a wonderful start to the domestic season but it was Tuchel's Chelsea who got the three points at the end of the 90 minutes.
It was a game of two halves. The home side made an intense start to the game, especially with their pressing as they tried to pin Chelsea back in their own half. There were no clear chances as such but Tuchel's side were not able to dictate the flow of the game like they usually do.
With the sides even at the break, Chelsea made a tactical switch that stole the show. N’Golo Kante came on as a substitute for Mason Mount to help Chelsea take charge and eventually win the game quite comfortably. Thiago Silva scored from a Marcos Alonso corner-kick four minutes into the second-half and N'Golo Kante's deflected shot doubled Chelsea's lead. Rudiger sealed the game when his compatriot Timo Werner set it up perfectly for him.
Keeping all that in mind, let us take a look at the five talking points from this game.
#5 N'Golo Kante's impact on this Chelsea side
Chelsea were poor in the first-half and there is no sugarcoating that fact. Tuchel had to change something and he subbed in N'Golo Kante at the half-time interval. It was the first time that the trio of Kovacic, Jorginho and Kante played together under Tuchel's set-up. There was a change in formation and Kante was at the heart of it.
Kante's introduction just changed the whole dynamic of the game. With Kante's defensive abilities, both Kovacic and Jorginho had the freedom to dictate the game according to Chelsea's liking. As Tuchel perfectly said in his post-match conference, N'Golo Kante is a complete midfielder in many ways and brings a lot to the team when he is on the field. Not to forget, the Frenchman also had a goal to his name today.
#4 It's not all bad for Nuno Espírito Santo and his team
Three 1-0 wins in the first three games saw Nuno Espírito Santo and his side top of the Premier League. After an amazing start to the season, which included a win over Pep Guardiola's champion side, Tottenham have lost the plot a bit. Two heavy defeats against Crystal Palace and now against Chelsea have surely derailed their season a bit, but all is not bad for the Lilywhites.
Performance-wise, there were a lot of positives in this Chelsea game for Nuno and the players. They were up against the champions of Europe and they had them pinned back in the first half. Nuno and his side are currently seventh in the table and three points behind fourth place.
They play Arsenal, Villa and Newcastle in their next three games. A good run of fixtures for them to step-up their game and regain some momentum.
#3 The Marcos Alonso - Ben Chilwell dilemma
The left wing-back position at Chelsea is turning out to be quite an interesting one this season. There is little doubt that Ben Chilwell is the first choice defender for that position. But Alonso has taken the opportunity extremely well and has made a strong case for himself.
Chilwell's lack of match fitness was due to his missed pre-season because of the Euros and the 24-year old did not feature for even a single minute in the competition. This forced Tuchel to play Alonso and that has worked out perfectly for Chelsea.
The 30-year-old Spaniard has been good with his defensive work and, as always, has been a constant attacking threat in the last few weeks. We have a long way to go this season but the fight for this spot could be something to watch out for.
#2 Harry Kane's wait continues
A natural goal-scorer and one of the best of this generation. There is a lot to love about Harry Kane and he is one of the finest that the Premier League has ever witnessed.
The English striker took his game to the next level after winning both the Golden Boot and Best Playmaker awards last season. The season was followed by another successful Euros campaign with England, even if they didn't go all the way to win it.
While all that cannot be taken away from him, this has been a sluggish start to the season. There was a lot of speculation around him joining Manchester City and not attending the training sessions. Harry Kane has failed to score in his first four Premier League appearances of the season for the first time in five years.
With 166 league goals, there is absolutely no doubting his skill-set and he will get going sooner rather than later. Kane has been Spurs' talisman for many years now and the club need him to find the back of the net as they look to reignite their season.
#1 Tuchel's army marches on
Another stern test and another positive result. Tuchel's Chelsea just keep impressing the footballing world with their consistency and solid performances. The London club continued their unbeaten start to the Premier League campaign and go level on points with Liverpool at the top of the table.
Defense has been Chelsea's strong point since the German's arrival and they somehow keep getting better at it. Interestingly, Chelsea have kept more clean sheets than they have conceded goals in the Premier League under Thomas Tuchel. They were without their star keeper Edouard Mendy today but that didn't affect them as Kepa played his role perfectly.
Goals coming from unlikely sources would please Tuchel as well, with Thiago Silva, Kante and Rudiger finding the net. Another thing to note is that the depth of this Chelsea side is rather astonishing as Ziyech, Chilwell, Reece and Saul didn't even take the field and Pulisic is ready to join the squad soon.
Chelsea look like a strong side this season and could be the team to beat. Next up for Tuchel and his army is a Carabao Cup clash at home against Villa before hosting the Premier League Champions.