Chelsea strengthens European hopes with victory over toothless Tottenham Hotspur

May 3, 2024 Vaseline stjohnson 0

Chelsea boost their European chances and dent Tottenham Hotspur’s top-four hopes with a 2-0 Premier League victory over their London rivals at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea strengthened their European qualification hopes while dealing the final blow to Tottenham Hotspur‘s aim for a top-four finish with a deserved 2-0 victory over their London rivals in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge.

Becoming the latest team to capitalize on the visitors’ alarming set-piece vulnerabilities, the Blues opened the scoring early on. Trevoh Chalobahheader, before Nicholas Jackson He added the insurance goal after a rebound from a free kick.

Tottenham’s fleeting chances did not pay off against an enraged Ange Postecoglouwho was torn on the touchline as his team lost their third successive Premier League game, leaving them seven points behind Aston Villa in last place in the Champions League with a game in hand.

While Postecoglou reprimanded his players, Mauricio Pochettino was glad to have overtaken his former team once again, overseeing Chelsea’s 10th Premier League double over Tottenham as the Blues overtook West Ham United into eighth place, two points behind Newcastle United in the standings. the Europa Conference League.

Chelsea take advantage of Spurs’ poor marking as Postecoglou fumes

Finally forced to pay for his declining form, James Maddison He was sacrificed from the Tottenham XI when Postecoglou changed almost half his squad, a luxury Pochettino could not afford amid the hosts’ injury crisis.

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min, Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr look dejected after Chelsea's Trevoh Chalobah scores his first goal on May 2, 2024.© Reuters

Despite their list of 14 absentees, Chelsea came out on top against their capital rivals and came within inches of breaking the tie in the fifth minute. pape sarr he lost the ball in the middle and the blues launched a quick counterattack.

Mykhailo MudrykJackson’s deft pass found Jackson, and although Guglielmo Vicario He hesitated, the Italian managed to take the sting out of the shot with an underbody save before Micky van de Ven He ran back to cut the ball that was going towards the goal Cole PalmerThe foot and above.

The ‘blues’ remained on their feet throughout the first half, and Pochettino’s team began to force some set pieces – Tottenham’s arch-enemy – and then Yves Bissouma By taking a cheap free kick in the 24th minute, their set-piece weaknesses were exposed again.

A perfect delivery from Conor Gallagher It was on the money for Chalobah, who stayed on the side, escaped untracked at the back post and deftly directed a looping header over Vicario’s arm into the top corner.

There was a slight hint of lack in Brennan Johnson of Marc Cucurella The Spaniard prevented his Welsh counterpart from reaching Chalobah, but the VAR room cleared the centre-back’s goal, leaving Postecoglou unusually apoplectic.

The Tottenham manager ranted and praised his underperforming players from the touchline, but his outburst did not spark a fire within his team, who remained second best and had some missed Chelsea chances to thank for the deficit. which remained only one.

The visitors almost made up for their last set-piece foul in the 38th minute, but Christian Romero”s header from a promising position went wide, while Sarr also saw a deflected effort miss in injury time as Spurs failed to get a shot on target in the first half.

Jackson continues his good run against the mediocre Lilywhites

However, Postecoglou fielded an identical eleven for the second half, where Tottenham immediately showed signs of improvement after receiving the blow-dry treatment, albeit without any real penetration.

The Spurs boss made the decision and brought in Maddison for richarlison just after the hour mark, like Son Heung Min He returned to a central position but Postecoglou looked forlorn again as the hosts doubled their lead in the 72nd minute.

Another free-kick did the damage, albeit in less orthodox circumstances, when a sweet shot from Palmer rattled the bar, and Jackson, the hat-trick hero of November’s win over Spurs, was allowed to head the rebound towards the penalty spot. the top corner.

Son and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg The pair opted not to challenge Jackson in the air, instead attempting to make a magnificent clearance from the line, but the Tottenham teammates got in each other’s way as they pursued a lost cause.

A late injury Alfie Gilchrist He was a minor and was not in Chelsea’s notebook, but his withdrawal allowed another 17-year-old Academy graduate. Josh Acheampong – to come on his senior debut.

Tottenham huffed and puffed around the Chelsea box in added time but it was too late for Postecoglou’s men, who now face another daunting day away from home at Liverpool’s Anfield base on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Chelsea now have two full days to recover before another London derby with the team they just beat: hosting West Ham on May 5.

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