Harry Kane shocked Stamford Bridge with a last-minute equaliser to secure Tottenham Hotspur a fortunate point against their London rivals Chelsea.

The 2-2 draw was a heated match, with Chelsea being the dominant side throughout the game, but Spurs fought back to equalise twice. 

Chelsea earned the opening goal from a sweetly-hit volley from their new centre-back signing, Kalidou Koulibaly, before Pierre-Emile Højbjerg equalised for Tottenham with a powerful effort from outside the box. 

Reece James capitalised on Tottenham’s frequent defensive failures to put the West London club back in the lead. 

However, Spurs’ main man Harry Kane’s last-minute headed effort saw his team gain a hard-fought but controversial point. 

  • Story of the Match:

Antonio Conte fielded an unchanged side after Tottenham’s emphatic win against Southampton as he returned to his former club, whom he previously won the Premier League with during his tenure.

"It’s always difficult to play away against Chelsea", noted Conte to Sky Sports before kick-off, whose form against Chelsea as Spurs manager is indifferent, having lost three times against Chelsea last season within 19 days. 

Spurs’ dynamic duo Harry Kane and Son Heung Min, of course, started in the Stamford Bridge clash, with the England captain looking to open his account for the season. 

Chelsea started their new signing Marc Cucurella, who made the switch from the south coast club Brighton and Hove Albion to west London in hopes of improving Chelsea’s attacking output down the left flank.

Highly-rated Senegalese centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly also started, with the AFCON winner's dominating presence strengthening Chelsea’s depleted defence.

Star signing Raheem Sterling led the front line in hopes of scoring his first competitive goal for his new club, having made the $47.5 million switch from Premier League champions Manchester City in hopes of more consistent game time. 

Tottenham started the match as the stronger-looking team, with the speed of the North London side’s counter-attacking play often proving too much for Tuchel’s team. 

However, Chelsea grew quickly into the match, with surprise starter Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Reece James stringing together attacking movements - while Kai Havertz and Mason Mont looked to press Spurs and drag the Blues into dangerous attacking positions. 

Chelsea capitalised on their newfound momentum to break the deadlock through shock-scorer Koulibaly. The centre-back was seemingly invisible to the Tottenham defence and was afforded far too much space, with his first-time volley flying passed a helpless Hugo Lloris

From here, Chelsea dominated the rest of the half, with Tottenham’s chances coming few and far between, and they were often broken down quickly by Chelsea’s aggressive midfield. 

Tottenham lacked discernible rhythm once going behind, with loose passes and poor ball protection making reclaiming possession far too easy for the home side.

Chelsea, alternately, were sharp. Their constant movement and intricate passing up the pitch proved to be too much for Tottenham throughout the half. 

Chelsea were at their most threatening on the left-hand side, with Cucurella’s constant runs forwards propelling the rest of his team up the pitch. 

At every opportunity Chelsea would only pass forward; they had no intention of sitting deep, withstanding pressure after their opener.

They smelt blood. 

Chelsea continued their second half just as they ended the first, with Loftus-Cheek’s powerful run allowing Havertz to place a dangerous ball into the box before Spurs just about cleared it to safety. 

Son soon had a chance to even the score, however, after a floated cross from Kane landed at the feet of the South Korean, who, one-on-one with Edouard Mendy, attempted to skip past him.

The Senegalese shot-stopper made himself big and scooped up Tottenham’s best attempt of the game so far. 

The Blues were not put off by Spurs’ rare opportunity as they continued to pin their opponents in their own half. 

A cheeky attempt by Mount nearly caught Lloris off-guard as the England international floated a shot from outside the penalty box, which the French keeper tipped over the cross bar. 

Conte, who clearly saw his side lacking an attacking threat, brought on new signing Richarlison, who donned a stunning bleach-blond Mohawk to  mark his debut for his new club.

The Brazillian immediately began making runs between the centre-backs in a clear tactical change. 

This tactical shift had no immediate impact, however, as again Spurs were left wanting more at the back after Loftus-Cheek capitalised in the empty space left by Tottenham’s defence to make a skilful dribble through the defence.

The ball eventually fell to Sterling, whose powerful effort was only lacking accuracy. 

The game began to open up as a ball from deep afforded Kane a chance to run at the defence. Kane’s intelligent movement afforded him more space to make a run towards Mendy, but the England captain dragged the effort just wide of the left post. 

Spurs, despite their improved attacking output in the second half, still found themselves far too exposed at the back, with the speed of Chelsea’s turnover of play exposing space on the right wing for Sterling and Havertz to exploit. 

 

  • Tottenham’s Turning Point?

Against the run of play, Pierre-Emile Hojberg picked up possession at the edge of the Chelsea area and rifled the ball first time just passed the clutches of Mendy. 

While the goal scorer saluted the away end in an attempt to liven up the away atmosphere, the Chelsea players crowded the referee during the subsequent drinks break to complain about a foul in the build-up. 

Spurs clawed their way back to make the score level, and all the momentum of the game shifted to them. 

Again, Chelsea did not let up. After Havertz missed a golden one-on-one opportunity, the West London side reclaimed the lead through Reece James.

Chelsea squeezed the life out of an attempted Tottenham counterattack and yet again exploited the gaping space only filled by the prolific Chelsea wing-back, who made easy work of the finish. 

Tottenham now had it all to do again. 

Yves Bissouma and Ivan Perisic were Conte’s Plan B as they replaced Rodrigo Bentancur and Son, respectively, in an attempt to get anything from this heated London derby. 

Thomas Tuchel replaced N’Golo Kante and Raheem Sterling with Conor Gallagher and Christian Pulisic

The former Crystal Palace loanee made an immediate impact, with Gallagher’s quick feet affording him the space to pass to Mount, who failed to get the ball on target. 

Spurs did not give up, however, but their attempts were rendered futile by Chelsea’s much more compact defence. 

Until the final minute. 

In Spurs’ final attempt of the game, a corner was swung in perfectly by Perisic for Kane to nod home in typical Harry Kane style. The Tottenham players were lining up in the box, crowding a helpless Mendy, with Kane being the lucky recipient of the delivery. 

Against the run of play, the North London side robbed their rivals for 2 points to end a heated London derby and finally end Tottenham’s losing streak against the Blues. 

The final score may have split the bragging rights, but it will be the away support who leave Stamford Bridge feeling like winners. 
 

  • Player of the Match

Considering the difficulty of his last few seasons, Ruben Loftus-Cheek played exceptionally for Chelsea. He was often at the heart of their attacking threat. 

He frequently showed his strength by out-muscling his opponents and his technical footwork was often too much for Spurs players. 
 

Should he have not picked up so many injuries since his loan spell at Crystal Palace, Loftus-Cheek may have been on of England most elite and talented midfielders, and should he continue his form from this match for the rest of the season he may still reach these heights. 

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