Plus: Liverpool's Darwin Nunez must be more clinical after Luton draw; Hatters show enough heart which bodes well for their survival hopes, while Nottingham Forest's own survival belief will generate from their home form at the City Ground; Aston Villa's away form is a problem
Tuesday 7 November 2023 11:23, UK
The irony in Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie both being sent off and gifting Chelsea the chance to end Tottenham's unbeaten run was that they could have walked earlier.
Romero briefly escaped after foolishly kicking out at Levi Colwill off the ball before attempting to snap the shin of his Argentina team-mate Enzo Fernandez which delivered him red.
Udogie mindlessly jumped in two-footed on Raheem Sterling - only a yellow - and later decided to finish the job by sliding in late when the winger was running away from goal.
If Spurs really are going to be title contenders, then they need to grow up fast. That may prove impossible for serial offender Romero who has collected four red cards in 75 appearances for the club. How many more times can a World Cup winner cost his side?
Tottenham should not have unravelled from a position of dominance inside the opening 15 minutes. Udogie sparked it with his lunge. Spurs had got away with one, they knew it and switched off. The experienced Romero only made things worse.
And by then it was too late. Those that were left showed the spirit Ange Postecoglou has instilled, boldly - almost unbelievably - pushing their defence up to the halfway line. It nearly worked. Spurs' first defeat must act as an important lesson.
David Richardson
Nicolas Jackson hugged the match ball and pointed to the Chelsea crest. The Senegalese striker had come into criticism last weekend from Alan Shearer following his display against Brentford. This could prove a turning point.
Shearer stated that Jackson was not a "natural goalscorer" - a claim rebuffed by Mauricio Pochettino, who has thrown his support behind his striker.
Signed for £32m from Villarreal in the summer, Jackson is still adapting to life at Stamford Bridge. The 22-year-old had netted just two Premier League goals in nine appearances prior to his unlikely treble on Monday.
Jackson scored a hat-trick but still underperformed his xG (3.37), seeing a close-range header kept out and passing up another opportunity with virtually the final kick of the game.
"I think it is about building his confidence," said Pochettino. "We know when a striker is young and arrives at a club like Chelsea it is massive. He is so young and came from Spain, a different league and he needs to improve. I hope this hat-trick can allow him to play more relaxed and find the confidence he needs."
The jury will still be out after he eventually capitalised on facing a heavily depleted defence in the second half, but in much the same way Darwin Nunez brings chaos to the Liverpool attack, Chelsea will now hope for the floodgates to open.
Ben Grounds
"It is just who we are mate. It is who we are and who we will be for as long as I am here. If we go down to five men, we will have a go."
The message was clear from Ange Postecoglou when asked about the extraordinary high line Spurs played with despite being down to nine men.
It was a tactic that confused Chelsea for long periods as they struggled to find a way past Guglielmo Vicario, who was in fine form as a shot-stopper and a sweeper-keeper.
In the end, it did prove to be their undoing as Chelsea found their composure and Nicolas Jackson finally capitalised on the space in behind to score a late hat-trick. Spurs' resolute display was finally ended as Chelsea inflicted a first league defeat of the season on Postecoglou's side.
"It's brilliant," Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher said of Spurs' high line on Monday Night Football. "I loved watching it and was intrigued right throughout the game being a defender myself. I've never really seen something like that before.
"The normal way you'd defend with 10 players or nine players would be to get players behind the ball and try and make it difficult, try and make the opposition cross and have your numbers in the box. To see a team play like that, I thought it was fascinating.
"Hopefully they do go down to five players one day and we can have a look at it."
Under Postecoglou, however slim the chances are of that happening, you can guarantee Spurs would give it a go. Tottenham won't be changing and that will be music to the ears of the Spurs fans.
Oliver Yew
There's so much to admire about Darwin Nunez. He's had a great season so far, but he has moments like his miss in the second half against Luton where the people who are not maybe huge fans of his can point at that.
He has to change those situations like that. There was a moment in the first half where he could have had a different type of finish and he's got to bring that to his game - be a bit more delicate rather than putting your foot through it every time.
He's dangerous, he's a handful, he's never going to be the most clinical. We know that now, he's been in our league almost 18 months. But there's no doubt there's been a big improvement this season - he's Liverpool's No 9.
But he just got to stop the memes on social media and people looking at the big chances that he misses. He's got to be more clinical in those situations.
Jamie Carragher
"Our starting team cost £4m or £5m - starting in a Premier League game against Liverpool. Ha!"
A laughing Luton manager Rob Edwards said he was proud, not disappointed of his team conceding late to Liverpool and while the importance of those two dropped points will be determined in May, the signs look good for the Hatters.
Luton were brilliant defensively to stay in the game, making 43 clearances in the 1-1 draw - the most of any Premier League team this season. Their goal is the perfect example of how dangerous they are on the break and in transitions too.
Now that point has taken them out of the drop zone, Edwards will be hoping he and his team have the last laugh come the end of the season.
"People out there will say what they want about us, our job isn't to change people's minds," he added. "It's to make them think, they're fighting, they're difficult to beat, they've got good players, that's what happened tonight."
Sam Blitz
Last month former Aston Villa midfielder Paul Merson believed the team needed to change their "inconsistent" away form if Unai Emery's side are to achieve a top-four finish this season.
But that obstacle still remains after their disappointing 2-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest that will temper expectations around Villa.
The loss at the City Ground means Aston Villa's last five defeats in the Premier League have come away from home, including all three of their losses this season.
Early goals were an issue in all of those defeats - Ola Aina scored for Forest after five minutes, Dominik Szoboszlai hit a third-minute opener for Liverpool (3-0) and Sandro Tonali scored in the sixth minute for Newcastle (5-1).
Emery celebrates a year in charge of Villa on Monday and it has been a superb 12 months under the Spaniard. Villa are riding high in the Premier League, competing in Europe and have made Villa Park a fortress with the club on a 12-league game winning streak there.
But if they are to take the next step under Emery in his second year and mount a top-four challenge then it is away from home where they must improve.
Indeed, Emery's side have only won two of their last 10 away games in the competition, while losing half of those (D3 L5).
Villa's next away game is at Tottenham on November 26, live on Sky Sports. That will certainly be a match that will not only test their top-four credentials but provide Villa with an opportunity to deliver away from home.
Declan Olley
Nottingham Forest are turning the City Ground into a fortress.
Sunday's impressive 2-0 win over top-four hopefuls Aston Villa means Steve Cooper's side have lost just two of their previous 20 home games in the Premier League (W9 D9). Only Manchester City and Liverpool have lost fewer such matches since the start of October last year.
Forest's positive home record was key in preserving their top-flight status last season with eight of their nine victories coming at the City Ground. It's still early days, but that trend has continued at the start of this campaign. Two of their three wins so far have been in front of their own supporters, while all four defeats have been on the road.
Although their away form clearly needs work, Forest have a knack of continuing to churn out results in Nottingham. The City Ground is now one of the toughest stadiums to visit and, as Cooper looks to keep his team in the Premier League for a second consecutive season, the challenge now is to ensure it continues that way.
