Chelsea show masterclass in Spurs’ defeat

London, Sept 20

In a relentless second-half attack, the champions of Europe hit three goals in this London derby to send Tottenham Hotspur to their second successive 3-0 defeat in the Premier League. After a goalless 45 minutes, Chelsea came back strongly to take full control with an effective midfield change to bring on substitute N’Golo Kante.

Chelsea manager, Thomas Tuchel said: “N’Golo is unique, one of a kind and having him on the pitch makes such a huge difference to everything. We needed his energy for the second half because we did not bring the right attitude to the game to begin with.”

He added: “In the first half we were not sharp enough. We were not bad but not on the level you need to have when you face a strong Tottenham side in their stadium. But when you have N’Golo Kante on the bench, he is the best player to bring a change. He is a top player. If you have him you have something that everyone is looking for.”

Spurs began well, they pressed up front and intensely with Chelsea finding it hard to get a foothold. Heung-min Son could have given Spurs the lead but Kepa Arrizabalago dived bravely at his feet to keep him out. Chelsea too missed early when Kai Havertz missed his kick in the 11th minute from a headed pass by Cesar Azpilicueta.

Another miss for the visitors was in the 15th minute when Mason Mount could not connect his shot from a return pass from Romelu Lukaku.

The first half was roughly evenly balanced but thereafter Chelsea dominated. Their margin of victory should have been greater but they missed further chances.

Hugo Lloris tipped over the bar a first-time volley by Marcos Alonso and there was a goalline save by Eric Dyer from a shot by Alonso. The deadlock was finally broken four minutes into the second half from a corner which was converted by Thiago Silva who rose high above Deli Alli for a header.

Just eight minutes later, Chelsea doubled the lead. Giovani Lo Celso lost the ball to Mateo Kovacic who passed to Kante. The midfielder took aim and his firm shot deflected off Dyer’s left leg and went into the goal off the inside of the right post with Lloris left flat-footed.

Chelsea continued to press hard and create chances with most of the play in Spurs’ half. Finally, in the second minute of added time came the third goal. A corner was not cleared and substitute Timo Werner pulled the ball back to Antonio Rudiger to drill in a low shot.

Spurs manager, Nuno Espirito Santo, said: “We have had problems. There are a lot of reasons — a lack of time to work together. That’s the main reason. I honestly believe the first half was really good. The energy that we put on the pitch, the attitude, the spirit the players had. There’s only one positive today, that was the first half.”