Having left Tottenham Hotspur four years back, Mauricio Pochettino returned to his old stomping ground with his new team, Chelsea, on Monday night (November 6). Considering Tottenham’s unbeaten Premier League run and Chelsea’s lackluster start to the 2023-24 campaign, most expected a straightforward victory for the hosts at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Pochettino’s struggling Blues, however, had something else in mind.
A chaotic 90+ minutes later, the Pensioners were the ones left standing, with them securing a much-needed 4-1 victory in north London.
Tottenham Hotspur Struck By 2 Dismissals, Chelsea See 3 Goals Ruled Out
Tottenham Hotspur were the much superior team in the first 10 minutes of the game. They moved the ball around swiftly and deservedly got their noses in front in the sixth minute. James Maddison’s sweeping delivery fell to Pape Sarr, who made no mistake in feeding Dejan Kulusevski on his right. The winger struck the ball well, but it took a Levi Colwill deflection to wrong-foot Blues’ stopper Robert Sanchez.
In the 13th minute, Heung-min Son found the back of the Chelsea net, but the VAR came to the visitors’ aid and ruled it out for offside. Shortly after, Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling was on the receiving end of a VAR intervention, with the off-field officials ruling the Englishman’s goal out for handball. Moises Caicedo and Nicolas Jackson also saw their goals ruled out in the 27th and 29th minutes.
Pochettino’s side ultimately got their goal in the 35th minute, following Cristian Romero’s poor tackle on Enzo Fernandez inside the penalty area. Romero was sent off for fouling his countryman and Chelsea got a penalty. Cole Palmer stepped up to take the spot-kick and unhesitantly put it away.
Things went from bad to worse for Tottenham when Iyenoma Udogie saw a second yellow for a challenge on Sterling in the 55th minute. Down to nine men, Spurs failed to regain control, which allowed the visiting side to run away with the game.
Jackson scored the Blues’ go-ahead goal in the 75th minute before adding two more in injury time, completing his hat-trick and propelling his side to an emphatic 4-1 victory.
Manchester City Claim Premier League Top Spot After Tottenham’s Defeat
The win did not do much for Chelsea in terms of their position in the Premier League table, with them still sitting in 10th place. Instead, it worked in Manchester City‘s favor, who have now claimed the Premier League top spot after Matchday 11. Courtesy of Spurs’ defeat to Chelsea and Arsenal’s loss to Newcastle United, City have opened up a one-point lead at the summit. Given how proficient the Cityzens are at preserving slender advantages, title aspirants Liverpool, Spurs, and Arsenal might have already started fearing another Premier League title for Guardiola and Co.
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