Team News
There were a few surprises on the Spurs side as Son started after being reported injured before the game. Also, Dier was a big doubt prior to the match, but he started as well. The new signing [player 333731] started with Lo Celso and Ndombele in the eleven as well.
As for the European Champions, Kepa replaced [player 99137] with the Frenchman forced out due to an injury. Mount came in for [player 24288], and Kante was named on the bench. The other changes saw [player 186606] come in for [player 2875858] at wing-back and Christensen replacing [player 537117] in the back three.
First-Half
With a great atmosphere in the stadium for a fierce London Derby, [team 6] started the game on the front foot. [player 99148] and Lo Celso, along with Kane’s false nine movements, were overloading the midfield area and were dominating the ball. [team 18] were struggling to get into the game and penetrate Tottenham.
Tottenham were looking comfortable but were unable to penetrate the last line of Chelsea’s defence. Chelsea, however, were taking longer than expected to get some rhythm going. Despite all the Spurs pressure, the first major chance fell to [player 32612]. The German failed to hit the ball well and missed the chance to go in front.
Spurs continued to dominate possession, but once again, they were at the end of a brilliant counterattack by the visitors. Mount combined well with [player 995] but didn’t connect to the ball properly and missed the chance.
Despite Chelsea’s moments, Spurs were playing offensive football. [player 380886] was played through on the left side, whose low cross was blocked by Rudiger. The whole stadium was clearly frustrated by his decision as most of them expected him to shoot.
Chelsea were gradually growing into the game, and [player 4460] made a brilliant run. He exchanged a pass impressively before curling the ball to miss the target narrowly. Tottenham’s best chance of the first half fell to [player 4313], whose disappointing first touch let him down as [player 186606] gathered the ball.
Spurs were surprisingly better than Chelsea in the first half. Although, the visitors did have a few scary moments. However, Tuchel certainly had to change something to get Chelsea to dominate the game.
Second-Half
As it turned out, it was a game of two halves as Chelsea came out in the second and absolutely killed their opponents. To get more intensity and legs in the midfield, Tuchel replaced [player 537121] with Kante, which changed the whole game. Kante’s intensity was too much for Spurs to handle.
Chelsea were all of a sudden dominating the ball, and Spurs were chasing shadows. The blues took the lead just four minutes into the second half when [player 95792] converted Alonso’s corner. The Brazilian made a run from deep into the box, which confused the Tottenham marking. Eventually, he got the better of [player 922] and Dier in the air.
Chelsea were not all over Tottenham, and it was just a matter of time before they got the second. [player 1128] had a great chance to seal the win but [player 916]’s heroics on the line rescued Tottenham.
Spurs were having no answers to what Chelsea were doing. They were unable to get [player 997] on the ball and no penetrating runs whatsoever. Kane was left isolated with the midfield not able to get the ball to him after Tuchel’s tactical switch.
Eight minutes after the first goal, Chelsea doubled their lead. [player 97664] gave the ball away cheaply in his defensive third, which allowed [player 73147] to pass it to [player 1193]. The Frenchman’s deflected shot went into the goal, and now there was no way back for Tottenham.
Chelsea kept coming at Spurs, and some high-class reflexes from [player 1014] kept the score somewhat respectable. However, in the dying moments of the game, Chelsea got their third. [player 31823] played a lovely cut back towards [player 31837], whose movement and the finish was incredible.
A top-class second-half display saw Chelsea destroy Tottenham, with Tuchel’s managerial heroics playing a huge in their Derby success.
What did the managers say?
Reflecting on a disappointing result, [coach 455991] said, “There were a lot of things that went wrong. Let’s start with the first half – I think it was a good game, competitive. We were on the front foot, started pressing high, creating problems and had chances.
“In the second half, the set-piece and goal changes the game. Then it becomes much harder, the game totally changed and Chelsea took control and were the better team in the second half.
“It’s difficult, but I’m proud of the first half and of all the game because we had troubles in the team and the players went to their limits.”
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said, “I was absolutely not happy with the first 45 minutes. There were individual performances which were great in the first half from Kepa and Thiago Silva. More players were good but in general, we lacked intent, energy and relentless in duels and 50-50 balls.
“I had the feeling we wanted to impress by pure skills but in derbies like this, it is not always about just skills. It is about aggression, winning duels and performing better as a team.
“We spoke clearly about it at half-time. In the second half, it was a very good performance and a deserved win. It was a very good reaction so I am happy with the performance in the second half.”
Author: Devashish Akolekar
