Ange Postecoglou angered by Champions League blow

Chelsea dealt a blow to Tottenham’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League with a 2-0 win against their London rivals on Thursday.

Trevoh Chalobah’s first goal since March 2022 put Chelsea ahead in the first half at Stamford Bridge.

The much-maligned Nicolas Jackson took the points in the closing stages with his 14th goal in a difficult first season with the Blues.

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After defeats against Arsenal and Newcastle, fifth-placed Tottenham’s third consecutive defeat leaves them seven points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa.

Tottenham have four games left, while Villa have three left, putting the north London side among the outsiders to finish in the Premier League’s top four.

It was another painful setback for Tottenham, who have squandered the goodwill created by Postecoglou during much of the Australian’s first season in charge.

He was left furious that night, abandoning his often calm personality on the touchline to tear apart some of his players.

“He’s having a good attack against Sarr and a good attack against Romero,” Gary Neville said on Sky Sports. “Ange Postecoglou has broken down.”

While Postecoglou licks his wounds, Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino enjoyed a second victory over his former club this season following a 4-1 win in November.

Pochettino had irritated Chelsea fans by admitting he could not “hide his emotions” for the club he managed for five years and took them to the 2019 Champions League final.

But they put those feelings aside to achieve the result they wanted, keeping eighth-placed Chelsea’s hopes of qualifying for Europe alive and managing just one defeat in 34 home league games against Tottenham.

Postecoglou had criticized Tottenham’s poor performance in Sunday’s 3-2 defeat against Arsenal and responded by making five changes, bringing in Richarlison and dropping James Maddison.

But in Pochettino’s 400th game in English football, the Chelsea manager should have been celebrating a five-minute goal.

– Wobbly spurs –

Jackson raced into the Tottenham box for a shot that went under Guglielmo Vicario, but lacked the power to beat Mickey van de Ven’s clearance off the line, and Cole Palmer somehow collected the loose ball from close range.

Moments later, Chelsea winger Noni Madueke embarked on a dynamic run before firing just over the edge of the area.

Four of the five goals conceded by Tottenham in their previous two games came from set pieces and were punished by worse marking on a set piece in the 24th minute.

Conor Gallagher’s free kick entered the area and Chalobah was left unmarked to power a superb header over Vicario from 12 yards.

That left Postecoglou’s fragile defense conceding 22 goals from set pieces in league games this season.

Tottenham claimed that Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella had prevented Brennan Johnson from marking Chalobah, but VAR ignored his protests.

Mykhailo Mudryk’s deflected shot was saved by Vicario before the Ukrainian winger went narrowly wide as Chelsea searched for a second goal.

Weakened by their weaknesses in set pieces, Tottenham almost took advantage of Chelsea’s defensive deficiencies with a Cristian Romero header that clipped the post after a Pedro Porro free kick.

Postecoglou looked increasingly angrier as the half-time whistle sounded and his chastened players responded to their coach’s frustration with a livelier display in the second half.

Porro’s shot from a tight angle forced Djordje Petrovic to save at Tottenham’s most threatening moment.

But Chelsea struck the decisive blow in the 72nd minute.

Palmer’s fierce free-kick crashed off the bar towards Jackson, who reacted quicker to head home from six yards.