Tottenham Hotspur suffered a crushing defeat at home to Chelsea, ending their hopes of reclaiming the top spot in the Premier League. The chaotic London derby saw Tottenham finish the game with only nine players, while Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea celebrated a stunning victory.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino marked his return to Tottenham with a triumphant hat-trick from Nicolas Jackson. The result was significant for Pochettino given his short tenure at Chelsea, but the manner in which the victory was achieved was truly astonishing.
Tottenham took an early lead after just six minutes through a deflected shot by Dejan Kulusevski. Shortly after, Son Heung-min scored what could have been a vital second goal, but it was disallowed due to an offside ruling.
However, the night took a turn for the worse for Tottenham, reminiscent of the historic Battle of the Bridge in 2016. Cristian Romero was shown a red card after a VAR check for a dangerous tackle, resulting in a penalty that Cole Palmer successfully converted. Tottenham also suffered two injury-related substitutions.
Ten minutes into the second half, Destiny Udogie was shown a second yellow card, reducing Tottenham to nine players and forcing them to desperately fight for a draw.
Chelsea’s advantage eventually took its toll as Jackson scored from close range in the 75th minute. The goal stood after another VAR check for offside. Tottenham’s hopes were dashed when substitute Eric Dier’s equalizer was ruled out for offside and Son’s stoppage-time effort was saved by Robert Sanchez. Jackson sealed the victory for Chelsea with two late goals, much to the delight of their fans.
This defeat marked the first loss for Tottenham this season under Australian manager Ange Postecoglou. The team currently sits in second place with 26 points from 11 games, just one point behind reigning champions Manchester City. Chelsea’s win moved them up to 10th place with 15 points.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris)
