Tottenham Hotspur secured just their second-ever Premier League win at Stamford Bridge with a 2-0 victory over Chelsea.
Roberto De Zerbi‘s men dominated the game but couldn’t make their chances count in the first half. They eventually did find the breakthrough, but it came from an unlikely source. Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders punched a Mateus Fernandes corner into the back of his own net, despite Maxence Lacroix‘s best efforts to keep it from going over the line.
Things soon got worse for Chelsea. Cole Palmer was sent off late on for two yellow cards, hurting the hosts’ chance of getting back into the game. Mathys Tel wrapped up the scoring late on with a fine finish low into the bottom corner.
The win sees Tottenham now up to 12th, while Chelsea could end the weekend outside the top four.
Chelsea vs Tottenham analysis:
Fernandes controls the midfield
Tottenham were excellent. Even if they did need an own goal to get them up and running, they deserved the lead and eventual victory. And Mateus Fernandes played a huge part in it. This was the Portuguese midfielder’s best game in a Tottenham shirt and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
Fernandes won a midfield battle against both Moises Caicedo and Jordan Henderson, rendering the Chelsea duo useless. The 22-year-old had more touches than any other Tottenham player, with 121, and completed the most passes (91). They weren’t all safe passes either. He also led Tottenham for final third passes attempted (16) and completed (13). And he took the corner punched in by Penders to open the scoring.
But Fernandes was also on hand to stop any Chelsea attacks that they did have. He made five tackles, more than any other player on the pitch and won possession six times. Three of those times were in the defensive third, with another three in the middle third.
When the game started to get out of hand, Fernandes was among the Tottenham players to keep their heads. It was a performance well beyond his years and will be one for both player and club to build on for the season.
Attacking struggles
When the two teams were announced before the game, there was a similar focus on each starting lineup. Chelsea were missing Joao Pedro, a surprise absence due to injury — which will “need to be assessed”. Tottenham, meanwhile, had dropped Dominic Solanke down to the bench with Omar Marmoush as the sole striker.
Xabi Alonso‘s solution to Joao Pedro’s absence was to play Morgan Rogers as the centre-forward, with Geovany Quenda joining Cole Palmer and Pedro Neto in the supporting roles. But it didn’t work for Chelsea. The Blues’ lack of striker was clear early on when Rogers didn’t attack a dangerous Palmer ball across the face of goal. And later in the first half, no one was on their toes for a cross from Quenda, which was dealt with by the Tottenham defence.
Chelsea did have their chances. Palmer forced a good save from Antonin Kinsky with a curling effort, while Jordan Henderson and Neto also tested the Tottenham goalkeeper. But across the game, the Blues didn’t look enough like scoring with just seven shots.
It was a similar story for Tottenham. In Marmoush’s 65 minutes on the pitch the Egyptian managed three shots, but only one of those hit the target. And it was a tame effort from a cutback that should have tested Mike Penders more than it did. Mohammed Kudus had two shots and hit the target once, while Mathys Tel mimicked his output — but the Frenchman did double Tottenham’s lead late on.
Fortunately for Tottenham, their pressure eventually paid off. But they did need a mistake from Penders to take advantage, with the Belgian goalkeeper punching a corner into his own net. Although Tottenham got the win, there may still be questions about their attack with just four shots on target from 15 efforts.
Battle on the flanks
A lot of this game was played down Tottenham’s left, and there were a couple of interesting battles. Defensively, Andy Robertson tested his legs against Pedro Neto and it was a battle he won both on and off the ball.
Whenever Neto tried to drive at him, Robertson was confident in his abilities to keep the Portuguese winger quiet — even if it meant conceding throw-ins in his own half. And when Chelsea tried to reach Neto with balls over the top, Robertson was always there to deal with the danger, often retaining possession.
Robertson won possession four times before his second-half substitution, with three coming in the defensive third. The battle was so one-sided that Neto ended the first half on Chelsea’s left flank, switching sides momentarily with Quenda.
Going the other way, Mathys Tel gave Josh Acheampong a tough evening. The Chelsea full-back wasn’t helped by Neto’s lack of tracking back, leaving him with the Frenchman on his own. Tel attempted six take-ons at Stamford Bridge, completing four, and created two chances. And he finally made it all count in the dying stages, doubling Tottenham’s advantage with his second shot.