Chelsea beat Tottenham Hotspur 4-3 to move within four points of Premier League leaders Liverpool.
Spurs, who are two goals ahead for the second time this season after losing 3-2 at Brighton in October, were 2-0 up after just 11 minutes through Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski as Chelsea defender Mark Cucurella was forced getting into the fray: changing boots after tripping for two goals.
Jadon Sancho then brought the visitors back into the game in the 17th minute with a superb curling low finish from outside the box.
Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo avoided a first-half red card for an offside tackle on Pap Matar Sar despite a VAR review. Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher described it as “unbelievable”.
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Jamie Carragher says Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo was “very lucky” to avoid being sent off.
Caicedo then won a second-half penalty as he made a rash challenge on Yves Bissouma, which allowed Palmer to equalize with a 61st minute header.
Chelsea always looked the most likely to win the game and Enzo Fernandez completed the turnaround in the 73rd minute with a powerful header.
Spurs’ defensive frailties were exposed again when Sarr conceded another penalty when he fouled Palmer, who then stepped up in the 84th minute to set up the excellent Panenka to extend Chelsea’s lead.
Heung-Min Son scored a stoppage-time goal but it was too little too late as Enzo Maresca’s side won their fourth consecutive league win to drop second to Liverpool, who are now on a back-to-back game after the Reds’ draw against Everton. : postponed to Saturday.
Meanwhile, Spurs are heading in the opposite direction, with back-to-back league defeats leaving them 11th, seven points behind the top four, and manager Ange Postecoglou under even more pressure.
Merce and Cara say Chelsea are in contention for the title. what is maresca thinking?
Sky Sports’ Paul Merson.
“It’s a massive result. It’s Chelsea’s biggest game of the season – go to Tottenham and win, four points behind Liverpool.”
“They are fighting for the title and they are Liverpool’s biggest threat. They don’t have European football, they have another team for that.”
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Jamie Carragher shares his thoughts on whether Chelsea will have enough quality to win the title all season and has doubts over goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher.
“This Chelsea team is not a complete story. This is a team that has spent £1.2 billion, but what they are doing this season is completely unexpected.
“This club is right to fight for the title.”
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca said in his post-match press conference.
“My message to the players after the game was to be focused. to be focused every day, in our session, the next game is Thursday, then Sunday, because if you start thinking about two games, then three. games or four games where we are?
“We’re happy that our fans are happy, they can dream, they can think anything, because it’s pretty clear out there.
“The reality is that I have said many times to myself that we are not ready to be there, but the important thing is that we are improving day by day.”
Anj. Sad loss but we played well
Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou talking to Sky Sports:
“It’s painful. It’s sad. We started really well and then we lost Cristian Romero. nothing has gone smoothly for us and we have to make adjustments before they score.
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“Tottenham” head coach Ange Postecoglou shared his thoughts after the defeat against “Chelsea”
“I thought we had big chances to get the third. The second half was ding-dong and we had a big chance to change the game our way. Then the two penalties weren’t great on our behalf. we need more discipline in the box.
“We didn’t play well against Bournemouth (1-0 loss on Thursday) but we played well today. They are a good team. We got stuck in key moments and the key moments decided the game.
“When we play our football, we have to keep our discipline. We didn’t need them because the game was balanced. When you play these top teams, those momentum changes can happen quickly.”
Postecoglou’s Spurs are complimented for cheating again
Sky Sports’ Adam Bate.
Postecoglou pointed to the good ends as his Tottenham side came out on the wrong side of a seven-goal thriller against Chelsea, and a generous interpretation of events might conclude he had a point. The same could be said of Spurs’ season.
Another six points and they’ll be in fifth place, one point behind Manchester City. A couple of wins against Crystal Palace, Ipswich and Bournemouth would be enough. Or how about that two-goal lead at Brighton? about maintaining.
But the reality is that Postecoglou’s Tottenham keep blowing two-goal leads and they keep dropping points. That’s not bad luck. It’s starting to feel like a consequence of a coach’s mantra that prioritizes style of play over the nuances of the game.
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Jamie Carragher says he has been a supporter of Tottenham owner Daniel Levy but someone has to be in charge.
There was no hint of control even with Cucurella’s early slips and the result is that, as good as those margins are, Spurs are now bottom of the Premier League table after 15 games .
In fact, of the 17 teams that have been in the Premier League both this season and last, only two have suffered more league defeats than Tottenham since Christmas. Dominic Solanke arrived in the summer, but the other signings were young prospects.
As a result, are signs of progress imminent? Despite the talk of a second season of trophies, this may be his Spurs. “Tottenham are very close to being a good team,” Carragher said in the comments Sky Sports. “But they always let you down.”
Maresca calls it right as Chelsea warn of a title challenge
Sky Sports’ Adam Bate.
At the start of the season, the talk of the Premier League race focused on whether Arsenal could finally topple Manchester City. Liverpool’s strong start has put them in the conversation. Now it’s impossible to ignore their nearest rivals Chelsea.
They needed to score twice to win 4-3 against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, but the performance was a bit more emphatic than the scoreline suggested. Sky Sports’ Paul Merson even called the win at the interval with Spurs still in the lead.
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Enzo Maresca has written off Chelsea’s title chances, insisting they are far from the finished product, joking that “Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool won’t stumble like Mark Cucurella”.
Maresca’s changes at half-time helped Chelsea win the game. One was a subtle change of centre-backs as Benoit Badiachiel struggled with Dominic Solanke and Heung-Min Son on his weak right.
The decision to recall Romeo Lavia was intriguing as he was arguably Chelsea’s best player in the first half.Maresca realized he needed a specialist right-back in Malo Gusto but opted to move Moises Caicedo into midfield rather than drop him.
The first penalty was awarded after the man Caicedo ran into the box and capitalized on a bad foul on Yves Bissouma, then a fine afternoon’s work for Maresca and a fifth straight win in all competitions to move them above Arsenal into second place.
How far can they go?Some fans are quick to say that goalkeeper Robert Sanchez remains a concern, while there are still questions to be addressed at the back.Liverpool and Arsenal both have better defensive records than “Chelsea”.
But no team can come close to matching his 35 goals so far, and that firepower could still be the difference in the title race.
