Premier League

TOTTENHAM 2 (Skipp 46, Kane 82)
CHELSEA 0

FOR the past couple of decades, Chelsea managers will have looked at the fixture list on their office wall and experienced a sense of inner calm when Tottenham are next up.

Even after Spurs, under Mauricio Pochettino, broke a Stamford Bridge hoodoo of 30 years without an away win, the rivalry saw no great reset in the balance between these London rivals. Before this afternoon (Sunday), Chelsea had won six times in six visits to N17.

With this in mind, struggling Chelsea boss Graham Potter, with two wins in 14, must have wondered if Tottenham were going to be their usual obliging selves and apply some balm to Chelsea’s rotten season.

Instead, Spurs let the Blues bring their best shot and, after watching it fall well short, used a dominant second period to destroy their rivals via an Oliver Skipp cracker and a Harry Kane tap in. It keeps Spurs in the top four and Chelsea exactly mid-table.

Coach Cristian Stellini had some special words for Skipp, the academy kid who has long been tipped to be a midfield mainstay for the foreseeable. He said: “It was a brilliant moment and one that we expected for one year because it has been one year he stayed far from the pitch – last season with physical problems and this year for tactical decisions.

“He is ready because he has trained a lot and pushed himself. He is an amazing guy and a great player. A player like Skippy has to understand that if he trains a lot he will have possibilities to show his value.”

Skipp lead by example and his all-round effort was matched by teammates. Stellini added: “Our desire was this: to win, play a great game and to fight for every ball. We are happy for the fans, the club and, of course, for us and Antonio [Conte] who is still at home.”

Stellini added that Conte, recovering from gallbladder surgery in Italy, would be taking training sessions at some point this week.

With Chelsea looking desperate and Spurs starting warily, the opening 45 minutes contained plenty of anti-football, riddled with fouls, time-wasting and a set of players who were too distracted by trouble and strife to bring genuine quality to proceedings.

Tottenham were guilty of stooping to Chelsea’s level and a war of attrition began. Short on quality and overburdened with players turning to the dark arts in place of invention, it was the type of football you would not want your children to watch. That said, Spurs shone in parts.

On 29 minutes, a quick passing move saw Richarlison cynically hacked down on the edge of the box, but referee Stuart Attwell allowed advantage to be played. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg stabbed an effort that was deflected on to the post with Kepa Arrizabalaga beaten.

Richarlison’s edgy attitude saw him cause plenty of issues and he was unlucky just before the break not to finish a move he created through his perseverance. The forward won possession but his attempt at a curler was mis-hit, his instep failing to catch quite the bend he needed.

For Chelsea, Reece James seemed to be the one player fighting for his coach, his physical presence giving Skipp and Hojbjerg plenty to battle with. Elsewhere, Raheem Sterling was shuffled into cul-de-sacs while Kai Havertz was marshalled well by Eric Dier and Cristian Romero.

As the half ended, the messy tackles and animosity colluded to create a melee, not helped by Attwell’s erratic game management. Richarlison was cynically fouled by Hakim Ziyech and Emerson Royal stormed over to make his feelings clear.

A hand was raised by Ziyech, who shoved Royal. Havertz and Royal were booked, and then Ziyech given a red card. Following the advice of his assistant referee, however, Attwell then double checked a replay, and the red was rescinded.

Tottenham, with a reputation of trying to see out the first half before taking the hand brake off for the second period, didn’t hang around after the break. Just 29 seconds after the re-start, Skipp grabbed possession from a Chelsea clearance, stepped to the edge of the box and smashed a shot home.

At the other end, Chelsea’s brightest player, Joao Felix, nearly got Havertz in but Fraser Forster, looking increasingly confident in Hugo Lloris’s place, gathered well.

Then came the goal to seal it on 82. A fast-paced progression from deep in the Spurs half saw Richarlison earn a corner. Substitute Heung-Min Son sent the ball deep. No one in blue dealt with it and Kane was unmarked at the back post to tuck home.

It was a gift for the forward, one that sealed three morale-boosting derby points. For Chelsea, meanwhile, is was another poor performance from this billion-pound side.

Tottenham: Forster, Romero, Dier, Lenglet, Royal, Skipp, Hojbjerg, Davies, Kulusevski, (Son, 78), Richarlison (Porro, 88), Kane
Substitutes not used: Austin, Sanchez, Perisic, Danjuma, Tanganga, Moura, Sarr

Chelsea: Arrizabalaga, James, Silva (Fofana, 18), Koulibaly, Chilwell, Loftus-Cheek (Mount, 61), Fernandez, Ziyech (Zakaria, 61), Felix (Aubameyang, 83), Sterling (Mudryk, 83), Havertz
Substitutes not used: Bettinelli, Badiashile, Gallagher, Madueke.