Spurs Beaten by Chelsea for Third Time in as Many Weeks

Sunday 23rd January 2022

Match Report

Chelsea 2 – 0 Tottenham Hotspur

Venue: Stamford Bridge, London

Competition: English Premier League

"Pre-Match Thoughts – Massive game, especially after the huge comeback win in mid-week. They dumped us out of the Cup and I'm sure Conte will be hungry for revenge. It's a tough task though, we've won just one of our last 36 visits to Stamford Bridge.

In team news, Son and Romero remain doubtful. I'm predicting a passionate game where we play well but draw 1-1."

Conte sprung a surprise with his selection, as he opted for a 4-4-2 over his usual 3-5-2 formation. Bergwijn was rewarded with a start after the emphatic late impact he made off the bench against Leicester on Wednesday. Moura was the man to make way. Doherty also earnt a place in the side, he came in for Royal. Sessegnon started on the left ahead of Reguilón, and it was good to see Dier back from injury but strange to see Skipp dropped to make room for him.

It was a lively start from Chelsea and they created a couple of chances in the first five minutes that thankfully they couldn't finish off. Spurs needed to get a grip on the game fast.

20' A heart in mouth moment as Doherty stepped in late on Sarr and VAR was close to sending him off. It was a relief when they decided the challenge was innocent enough for him to stay on.

40' Positive play from Bergwijn as he broke forward through the middle before playing it out left to Sessegnon, he crossed low into the feet of Kane, Thiago Silva made a mess of his defending and went diving forward on the deck, leaving Kane free in the box to take a touch, swivel, and slot home past the keeper. The ref disallowed it for a push by Kane on Silva, VAR checked and chose not to overturn what looked an incredibly soft foul - Kane's hand touched the Chelsea defender's back, but it literally looked no more than that. Very harsh on Spurs.

"Thoughts at Half-Time – There's no denying that Chelsea have been the better side, but you could argue that we should be one up, as they appear to have gotten away with one regarding Kane's disallowed goal. We've struggled to create chances and our defence have certainly been the busier of the two. Let's hope Conte can work his magic in the dressing room and we come out on top in the second half."

47' Goal. Hudson-Odoi lost Tanganga with relative ease down the left side, he continued running with it unchallenged before eventually laying it to Ziyech on the top left corner of the area, the Moroccan took a touch to set himself, before curling it quite spectacularly into the far top corner. Lloris with no chance. 1-0.

49' Ziyech was at it again moments later. This time he blasted it with his laces, and Lloris did well to dive and palm away.

55' Goal. Hudson-Odoi continued to cause problems, and on another of his runs down the left side Dier was forced to take him down. The free-kick was whipped in behind the backline and glanced on into the bottom corner by Thiago Silva. 2-0.

56' Skipp and Moura were introduced as Tanganga and Sessegnon made way.

58' Kane was clearly frustrated and started hounding down the ball all over the pitch. On this occasion he got it on the left side and did well to work his way down the wing and deliver a cross onto the head of Moura. He couldn't get enough on it and inadvertently flicked it on to Skipp, who knocked it into Bergwijn on the penalty spot, he half volleyed at goal but it was too central and saved by Arrizabalaga.

69' Lukaku spun by Sánchez and unleashed a vicious shot that Lloris did well to stand strong and save.

86' Winks floated a corner in, Kane got himself into a pocket of space and headed powerfully at goal. Arrizabalaga dived to push it behind for a corner.

"Thoughts at Full-Time – Three times on the bounce they've beaten us now, and it was hard to see anything other than that happening today, they just have so much more quality in their team. It's one to learn from, put behind us, and focus on returning to winning ways after the International break."

Tottenham Player Ratings

• 1. Hugo Lloris – 7.5 – Not at fault for the goals and forced into making a few good saves.

• 25. Japhet Tanganga – 4 – Struggled again. Was dominated by Hudson-Odoi throughout, most notably in the build-up to the first goal.

• 15. Eric Dier – 7 – Made some important blocks. Gave the foul away that led to the second goal. Overall he did pretty well in what was a busy night for our defence.

• 6. Davinson Sánchez – 5 – Did well to cut out a dangerous ball to Lukaku at one point. Beaten to the header by Silva for the second goal though and had a few shaky moments again.

• 33. Ben Davies– 6 – Used as a left-back again today and had a tough time against Ziyech. Worked hard but couldn't create much going forward.

• 2. Matt Doherty – 4 – Played as a right winger and didn't really show the necessary qualities to be an effective one.

• 8. Harry Winks – 5 – Worked hard but had little impact on proceedings.

• 5. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg – 5 – Tried, but was ultimately overpowered by a strong Chelsea midfield, and didn't offer much going forward.

• 19. Ryan Sessegnon– 5.5 – Given a go as a left winger. Showed good pace to break in on goal in the first half but scuffed his shot across goal. Played it into Kane for the disallowed goal. Not much else from him.

• 23. Steven Bergwijn– 7 – Clearly gained confidence from those two goals in midweek. Started brightly making some strong, positive runs with the ball. Faded out in the second half, difficult to get involved when we spent most of the match defending.

• 10. Harry Kane – 7 – Unfortunate to have his first half strike ruled out for a soft foul. Tried to grab the game by the scruff of the neck and get us back into it, but needed more support from the midfield.

Substitutions:

• 19. Ryan Sessegnon ⬅ 56' ➡ 27. Lucas Moura – 4 – Made little to no impact.

• 25. Japhet Tanganga ⬅ 57' ➡ 29. Oliver Skipp – 6 – Came on and did his job in midfield but we were already two down. Should have started.

• 8. Harry Winks ⬅ 89' ➡ 11. Bryan Gil – N/A – On as a late sub and by then the game was well and truly gone.

Man of the Match – 1. Hugo Lloris