Chelsea's form continues to spiral in the Premier League after Sunday’s encounter. The Blues have only scored six goals across their last twelve games, the lowest of any club, and their form leaves them 14 points off fourth place and ten points from the relegation zone.
Pressure continues to mount on Graham Potter after his expensively constructed side only registered two shots on target with one coming from inside Spurs' box, and only one win in the Premier League since the start of 2023.
The first half was an ill-tempered showing from both teams which remained goalless at the interval. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's deflected effort came the closest after it hit the post, but Tottenham finished the half without a shot on target. This scoreline was no surprise to Chelsea, as they have only scored one first-half goal in their last eight games.
Spurs were defensively excellent and hurt the Blues on the counter in the second half. A brilliant strike from Oliver Skipp opened the scoring within 40 seconds and was added to through a tap-in from Harry Kane, who scored his 228th goal for his club.
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Story of the Match
Tottenham stuck with the same team that started in their win over West Ham, with Cristian Stellini continuing to fill in for Antonio Conte as he recovers from surgery. Fraser Forester kept his place in goal after his clean sheet against The Hammers and covered for the injured Hugo Lloris.
Graham Potter inducted a well-needed defensive and offensive overhaul after their defeat to Southampton last weekend. His six changes included Reece James, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling, Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech.
Both teams started the match well, with Chelsea leading possession by 67%-33% in the first 30 minutes. Joao Felix looked comfortable on the ball, with his first shot troubling Forster from outside the box.
Potter needed to make his first substitution in the 20th minute, with Thiago Silva taking a knock early on in the game. He was replaced by Wesley Fofana, making this his sixth game for the club.
Hojbjerg came close to putting Spurs ahead, wrong-footing Kepa Arrizabalaga, his powerful effort was deflected on goal and rattled the post in the 27th minute.
The contest between the two teams heightened near the end of the first half. Kepa started some time-wasting hijinks and in turn, riled up the home fans. The keeper attempted to make a clearance, but Spurs’ own Harry Kane left too much on him and dropped him to the floor.
A spark ignited the flame – Ziyech went on a rampage and was lucky not to leave the pitch. The Morrocan cleared out Richarlison, leading to a commotion between the two sets of players. Emerson Royal came over to instigate and shoved Ziyech in the back, prompting him to lash out, catching the cheek of the wing-back.
Stuart Attwell and VAR took their time to assess the incident, with the referee initially sending Ziyech off, but retracted the card after viewing the monitor. Havertz, Royal and Ziyech received yellow cards for their troubles in the sixth added minute of extra time.
Second Half
Spurs came firing out of the blocks in the second half. Skipp put his laces through the ball outside the box after a clearance from Chelsea -Kepa managed to get a hand to the ball, but his shot rattled the underside of the crossbar and landed in the net. A stunning strike from the 22-year-old academy product opened his senior scoring career.
Ben Davies received a yellow card after a tackle which stopped the counter-attack from Loftus-Cheek in the 59th minute.
Potter could see that Chelsea were unable to create any opportunities, as their approaches towards the Tottenham produced nothing. He in turn made a double substitution, bringing on Denis Zakaria and Mason Mount, for Loftus-Cheek and Ziyech.
The referee appeared to walk down the tunnel and leave the game, but an issue with his equipment meant the game stalled for a few minutes. Mount was caught harshly by Christian Romero and denied a free-kick; the England international made his voice known, but received a yellow card for dissent.
Stellini looked to see the game out and brought on Heung Min-Son for Dejan Kuluveski, in an attempt to widen their lead and extend the South Korean’s four contributions after coming off the bench this season.
Kane put away a well-needed brace - a simple corner kick routine left the star striker free at the back post. The ball fell for him unmarked and he was allowed to tap the ball home, leaving Kepa stunned. Kane’s 268th goal for his club was one of his most simple and led to many of the Chelsea fans going home early.
As the fans and squad were stunned, Potter needed a miracle. He brought on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mykhailo Mudryk in an attempt to salvage something from the game, but inevitably that was way out of their reach. Pedro Porro replaced Richarlison to make his second appearance since signing on loan.
Player of the Match - Oliver Skipp
The academy prospect's appearances for Spurs have been sporadic after coming back from a successful loan spell from Norwich in 2021, due to injury.
However, he has been able to get a chance at more game time since the key player and teammate Rodrigo Bentancur was ruled out for the season, due to a knee ligament injury.
Skipp's last three games have seen him play 90 minutes against AC Milan in the Champions League, and against West Ham, where he put in solid performances. He put in a hardworking shift against Chelsea. His first Premier League goal for the club was impressive and should further inspire the central midfielder to fight for his place.
