Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur. Premier League.
Stamford BridgeAttendance39,086.
Match report and match highlights as Trevoh Chalobah and Nicolas Jackson give Chelsea a 2-0 win over Tottenham at Stamford Bridge; victory puts Blues only two points behind Newcastle in eighth place; Spurs miss chance to close gap to Aston Villa
Friday 3 May 2024 06:05, UK
Chelsea dealt a huge blow to Tottenham's top-four hopes and boosted their own chances of European qualification with a 2-0 victory over their London rivals at Stamford Bridge.
The hosts, missing 14 first-team players due to injury, went in front through Trevoh Chalobah's towering header from Conor Gallagher's free-kick in the first half as Spurs' set-piece frailties were exposed again following their defeat to Arsenal.
Ange Postecoglou was visibly incensed with his side's poor display in the first period and Chelsea doubled their lead in the 72nd minute, despite some Spurs improvement, when Nicolas Jackson headed home after Cole Palmer's free-kick came back off the crossbar.
The victory ensures Mauricio Pochettino has completed the double over his former side following Chelsea's 4-1 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in November and puts them only two points behind Newcastle in eighth. Spurs, meanwhile, remain seven points off fourth-placed Aston Villa, now with only one game in hand.
Spurs were fortunate not to fall behind as early as the fifth minute, when the dangerous Mykhailo Mudryk played in Jackson, whose low effort was brilliantly cleared off the line by Micky van de Ven, with Palmer unable to turn home the loose ball.
As Chelsea continued to tear through Spurs, Postecoglou, normally a figure of calm on the touchline, became increasingly furious, raging at the concession of a free-kick by Emerson Royal from which his side's much-discussed set-piece frailties were again exposed.
Chalobah did superbly to direct his towering header over Guglielmo Vicario and into the net from Gallagher's delivery, but the defender was unmarked, with Marc Cucurella blocking Brennan Johnson and VAR deeming the goal fair after a lengthy check.
Postecoglou remained animated on the touchline, berating his players during breaks in play, but Spurs did improve as the half wore on and should have levelled when Cristian Romero headed wide from close range at the far post. Pape Sarr sent another chance just wide.
Spurs pinned Chelsea back at the start of the second half but struggled to carve out chances, not even mustering a shot on target until just after the hour-mark, when Pedro Porro's diagonal effort was parried away by Djordje Petrovic.
Chelsea remained a threat on the break but it was from another set-piece that they got their second goal, Palmer's superb free-kick crashing back off the underside of the bar, with Jackson reacting quickest to loop a header into the net.
Johnson spurned an immediate chance to pull a goal back at the other end, but Spurs never really looked likely to rally after that, with Postecoglou's first-half rage replaced by a look of resignation as his side suffered a third consecutive defeat, leaving their top-four hopes hanging by a thread.
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino told Sky Sports:
"People believe that because a player is a name, he should play, even if he is not in form or at his best.
"I think the team, from the beginning of the season, suffered too many problems, that sometimes the names were there, but not in our best form.
"We never really got the belief that we needed to play in this way. There were too many individual targets or objectives before the team.
"Today was an easy team selection for us, but at the same time we showed to everyone that football is not about names. It's about being competitive, about behaving like a team.
"Even if you have big players, big names, if they don't play like today, trying to help the team in a defensive situation or when we have the ball to believe in every single offensive action we can score, then it's impossible because the Premier League is so competitive."
Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou:
"It wasn't a great night. We didn't have the mindset that I expect us to have, so that's on me, I've got to take responsibility for that.
"Ultimately I'm the one that's putting them out there and preparing them for it. We were so far off it I've got to look at myself and see how I'm preparing this team for it."
He added: "We didn't really reach the levels we needed to get a result here tonight. It's fair to say we didn't play anywhere near the levels to get something out of the game and probably didn't deserve it."
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