Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur. Premier League.
Stamford BridgeAttendance41,364.
Monday 2 April 2018 06:05, UK
Tottenham ended their 28-year Stamford Bridge hoodoo as Dele Alli struck twice in a 3-1 win to severely dent Chelsea's top-four hopes on Super Sunday.
Not since the days of Gary Lineker and Paul Gascoigne had Spurs triumphed at the Bridge and their first Premier League win there came the hard way having fallen behind to Alvaro Morata's opener (30).
With a fit-again Harry Kane back amongst the substitutes, Christian Eriksen's stunning 30-yard strike was a real game-changer (45+1) for Spurs before Alli, who was making his 100th Premier League appearance, struck twice in four minutes (62, 66) after half-time.
The result leaves Antonio Conte's men eight points behind Tottenham in fourth with their only hope of silverware being the FA Cup, where they play Southampton in the semi-final.
The match was played in a hostile atmosphere following fixtures like the "Battle of the Bridge" in 2016 when Spurs surrendered the title to Leicester courtesy of a Chelsea comeback.
With the fast-paced tempo in midfield neither team had much space to work with but Marcos Alonso, who scored twice in the reverse fixture at Wembley this season, had a goal chalked off on 19 minutes as he was marginally offside from an N'Golo Kante cross.
Spurs did not heed the warning of Chelsea's dangerous attacks down the right flank and Morata made them pay on the half hour. Victor Moses swung in no more than a decent cross and the Chelsea striker rose above a flapping Hugo Lloris to flick in his first Premier League goal of 2018.
Chelsea remained a threat but Alonso was denied by Lloris and Kante had a goal-bound effort blocked by Eric Dier.
Spurs looked short of ideas but Eriksen hauled them back into the game on the stroke of the half with a stunning long-range effort.
There did not look much on from 30 yards out but the Dane pinged a swerving effort that deceived a flat-footed Willy Caballero and flew into the roof of the net.
Caballero redeemed himself somewhat after the break with a flying one-handed save to deny Heung-Min Son but minutes later Spurs were in front, with a goal which showcased the talent at the disposal of Gareth Southgate.
Dier picked out his international team-mate Alli with a super 50-yard pass over the top and the 21-year-old controlled the ball into his stride before finishing past Caballero.
Four minutes later, Alli wrapped up the game.
This effort was much scrappier than his first but nonetheless important as he fired home from six-yards after a goalmouth scramble, where Chelsea's defenders failed to clear their lines.
Kane was introduced with 15 minutes to go as Spurs dealt with a wave of Chelsea pressure that was full of oomph but lacked a killer touch as another Premier League title defence is left in tatters.
Conte: "We are doing this, and we have to try until the end to do our best. But I think if we are in this position, we are deserving of this position.
"We have to try until the end to catch a Champions League place. In this case, there's Tottenham and Liverpool so we'll try until the end to get three points in every game. We'll see what happens."
Pochettino: "That type of game will help us achieve what we want.
"After nearly four years, a lot has happened at the club and I'm happy with how we are evolving.
"I remember four years ago when I arrived at Tottenham our challenge was to bridge the top four and now we're competing with the top sides."
Chelsea are back on Super Sunday next weekend with another London derby against West Ham United while Spurs travel to relegation-threatened Stoke City on Saturday afternoon.
