PREMIER LEAGUE 16/17: Chelsea End Spurs’ Unbeaten Record
- Chirayato Banerjee
- Nov 27, 2016
- 2 min read
Moses' continued with his impressive run, scoring the decisive goal. Image Courtesy: The Independent
It was dubbed to be a scintillating London derby as Chelsea hosted Tottenham Hotspurs. The Blues were coming off a 6 game winning streak. The visitors had a midweek dampener against Monaco in the UEFA Champions League. With 1 win in 9 games, Tottenham had to put up a strong display.
Spurs started strongly in the first half and looked as a team with intent. Mauricio Pochettino had the correct combination in a 3-man defense. Chelsea were left to chase shadows in the early quarters of the game.
The away side drew first blood when Christian Eriksen unleashed a 20-yard screamer. Thibaut courtois failed to get a glove and it was 1-0. It was after 600 Premier League minutes the Blues conceded in 7 matches after a revamped 3-man defence.
Spurs took advantage of the same and left Chelsea hapless. Diego Costa cut a lone figure up front and Eden Hazard lacked the magical touch. However, Spurs hardly created any convincing chances. There were a few wayward shots from Victor Wanyama, Eriksen and Mousa Dembélé.
The Belgian played the anchorman and did quite well in thwarting the midfield play of Chelsea. But the lack of decent chances hurt the visitors. Few minutes before the break, Pedro found himself at the edge of the box in some space. He dummied a passing movement and curled a finesse shot beyond Hugo Lloris. 1-1 and the sides went into the break level.
Into the break, Antonio Conte had realised the pressing game of Spurs were cutting the Chelsea supply line. He devised the perfect ploy to hurt the visitors with an equal fast, pressing game. The movement reaped benefit as Diego Costa turned supplier. He made a dash in the left channel, cutting back a low pass into the area. Wing back Victor Moses had kept running through the right and latched onto the same. His goal bound shot took a few deflections before settling into the back of the net.
Chelsea had the much needed lead and took the game away from the visitors. Conte egged on and urged his team to pull up their socks. Marcos Alonso had the chance to make it 3-1 but flashed his close range shot over the bar.
The lead brought back memories of last season when a stormy draw had ended Tottenham’s title hopes. But the tempers were in check this time. Spurs did little to bother the Chelsea defence. A few substitutions later, Conte’s men saw off the match comfortably. With this win, Chelsea reclaim the top spot.
Chelsea (3-4-2-1): Courtois; Azpilicueta, Luiz, Cahill; Moses (Ivanovic, 79), Kante, Matic, Alonso; Pedro (Oscar, 83), Hazard (Willian, 76); Costa.
Subs not used: Begovic, Fabregas, Batshuayi, Chalobah.
Tottenham (3-5-2): Lloris; Walker, Vertonghen, Dier, Wimmer; Wanyama, Dembele (Janssen, 83); Eriksen, Alli (Nkoudou, 73), Son (Winks, 65), Kane.
Subs not used: Vorm, Trippier, Onomah, Carter-Vickers.
Referee: M Oliver
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