Key stats
- Tottenham attempted three shots in this game, their lowest total in a single match in the Premier League this season.
- Spurs have not been able to win any of their 25 previous Premier League games against Chelsea when trailing at half time (D5 L20).
- Tottenham have failed to win their last 16 games when trailing at half time in the Premier League (D2 L14) since a 4-1 home victory over Aston Villa in November last year.
Highlights
Analysis
Aside from slight spikes in momentum at the beginning and end of the second half, Tottenham were nowhere near their rivals for the vast majority of the game in terms of impetus.
Match report
A London derby that’s produced many thrillers down the years got off to an inauspicious start, with the slow tempo perhaps owing to the early concussion withdrawal of Spurs midfielder Lucas Bergvall.
Play remained trapped in the middle of the park with Chelsea largely dictating things, though their first presentable sight at goal didn’t arrive until the 20-minute mark, when Alejandro Garnacho’s effort was safely deflected into the hands of Guglielmo Vicario.
A much clearer warning would come soon after though, when João Pedro pounced on a loose ball before curling a shot at Vicario.
However, it was third time lucky for Enzo Maresca’s men in the 34th minute, when Moisés Caicedo bullied his way through the Spurs defence, winning a series of challenges – most crucially on Micky Van de Ven – before feeding Pedro for a simple tap-in.
The Blues’ Brazilian forward could’ve had a hat-trick before HT, but saw another dangerous effort thwarted by Vicario after being picked out by Malo Gusto’s cross.
By contrast, Tottenham had to wait until the sixth minute of first-half stoppage time to register their first shot on target, with Mohammed Kudus forcing Robert Sánchez into a smart save.
Overall, Thomas Frank’s men needed vast improvements after the break, but the same pattern of play resumed with Chelsea remaining in the driver’s seat, and it was only the Blues’ wasteful finishing that kept letting Spurs off the hook, with Enzo Fernández and Reece James firing over the bar.
Vicario also twice thwarted powerful efforts from Pedro Neto as the endgame approached, and despite a number of late substitutions, the hosts never looked like threatening an equaliser.
A limp performance that stretched Spurs’ winless PL home run to four matches upheld the already-sour mood around most games played in N17, despite the Lilywhites’ top-four standing – though that itself could be gone come the end of the current round.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s love-affair with this ground continued as they won for the sixth time in seven PL visits, provisionally climbing into the top four as a result.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Moisés Caicedo (Chelsea)
Post-match comments
Despite the performance of the hosts, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca said Tottenham "look very, very good".
"Was a good performance for sure," he told Sky Sports about his own side. "Spurs look very, very good. You need this kind of performance to win.
"I think you have to be brave on the ball and off the ball. Off the ball we were good but on the ball we create many chances. We are very happy, for us, for the fans - it's a big derby, and we move on.
"In England, 1-0 is not a finished game. We could have scored one or two more and it would have been a lot more relaxed for us. But a win against Tottenham, clean sheet, and we're happy.
"We went from eleventh to fourth. It's a matter of balance. We lost one out of the last seven against Sunderland, and everything was wrong. I think we are on the right path."
Maresca singled Moises Caicedo out for particular praise.
"He's top. Him and Rodri are the two best defensive-midfielders probably in the world," he said.
Tottenham walked down the tunnel to a chorus of boos from the fans, but Thomas Frank refused to criticise them for the gesture.
"The fans started very well," he told Sky Sports. "I actually think they did everything they could to back the team throughout the game. A game where we didn't perform well. We met a Chelsea team that was better than us on the day.
"We need to work hard to keep getting better. I would say clearly we couldn't match their energy and intensity, I think that was part of it today unfortunately."