Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Chelsea
Spurs ended Chelsea’s unbeaten Premier League record tonight in spectacular fashion, leapfrogging the Blues into third place in the process.
We are safe enough making a promise that we’ll see good football in our Spurs vs Chelsea predictions, and that’s never going to be in doubt with the talent on show at Wembley. But it’s fair to say it was Spurs who stole the show with three goals, the pick from Heung-Min Son and a world-class performance from Christian Eriksen.
Highlights of the game
Spurs found it hard going in their last game before the international break, beating Crystal Palace 0-1, and I bet they couldn’t believe just how easily they swept the Blues aside in the opening exchanges to go 2-0 up after 16 minutes. Chelsea defender David Luiz didn’t cover himself in glory with either. First, he fouled Harry Kane just outside the box, giving Christian Eriksen a good chance to whip a dangerous ball in. That’s exactly what he did, and Dele Alli did the rest by getting the faintest of flicks on the ball to make sure keeper Kepa was beaten.
Eriksen is such a key player for Spurs with admirers across Europe, notably at Real Madrid. Minutes later, he played a great return pass to Heung-Min Son who blasted over when he was clean through. But Spurs were two up soon enough when Harry Kane took a pot shot from all of 25 yards. Luiz inexplicably stepped away from the shot and Kepa stayed rooted to his spot as it flew into the net.
Eriksen continued to be at the heart of Spurs’ attacking threat and he crossed for Juan Foyth, but Kepa made the save this time. And after Eden Hazard had forced Hugo Lloris into a smart save, Eriksen was there again, playing a beauty of a ball to Son, who saw his first-time volley brilliantly kept out by the Chelsea stopper.
Maurizio Sarri has made a fine start of his coaching career at Chelsea, but he was maybe starting to regret his jibes at Spurs’ inability to win a trophy by half-time, saying Chelsea would never put up with such a lack of success.
Spurs seemed intent on making the former Napoli boss eat his words. Despite the Blues coming out for the second half with greater intent, the Wembley crowd was on its feet again on 54 minutes when the hosts made it 3-0. And it was an absolute beauty. Dele Alli started a counter-attack with a sweeping ball, and Son outpaced Jorginho before turning Luiz inside-out and unleashing an unstoppable shot that curled past Kepa and into the far corner of the net.
The Spurs fans were in dreamland.
Harry Kane had a chance to send them into further delirium, but he skied his effort from just six yards when everyone in the stadium expected the net to bulge.
Chelsea did have something to cheer for on 85 minutes when Olivier Giroud nodded home, but it was just a consolation.
Key Statistics
We predicted a tight game in our SBOBET tips, but hey; we can’t be right all of the time!
Spurs have responded well to defeats to Liverpool and Manchester City and have gone on a five-match winning run. Harry Kane made it nine goals in his last 11 games for Spurs as the hosts ended Chelsea’s unbeaten run.
This is the Blues’ first away defeat in nine games, and they had won the last four games against Spurs at Wembley. In fact, the last time Spurs beat Chelsea here was in the 2008 League Cup final.
Heung-Min Son’s brilliant goal was his 50th in all competitions for Spurs to round off a perfect day for the hosts.
What’s next?
These two teams have a responsibility to fly the flag for London, and Spurs certainly did that!
The Whites now have two massive games over the next week, mouth-watering for fans and potentially season-defining. First, they face Inter Milan in the Champions League. Pochettino’s men desperately need a win to keep up their hopes of progress. Then it’s the North London derby at the Emirates where Unai Emery’s Arsenal are on an excellent run of their own.
Meanwhile, Chelsea have two rather less glamorous games to look forward to. First, they have a Europa League tie with PAOK Salonika to contend with. Claudio Ranieri’s Fulham visit the Bridge next, fresh from the new boss’ opening-match win. Will Claudio come back to haunt his old employers? Who knows? But you can get all your Premier League 2018 updates as they happen right here at SBOBET.
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