The title for this article is pretty straight forward. However it doesn’t explain how good Spurs were last night against the best team in the country at the moment. So read on and you will get the jist.
Spurs game plan tonight was simple. Set up like Chelsea. Basically, hit them on the break, play two wing backs while the midfielders battle it out for territory and possession. The first turning point in the game came when Costa and Pedro had a tiff over not passing at the right time when through on goal.
I don’t speak Spanish when they had the tiff but I can imagine what the conversation went like:
“Costa: Pedro my dear chum, you seem to have not seen me there.
Pedro: Oh no my friend, I would have scored you see hence why I did not pass to you.
Costa: I disagree old boy. You see, I score quite a lot of goals unlike yourself and I am rather good at shooting.”
After this debacle, Spurs dominated possession with the man mountain Dembele running things in the middle of the park. Him and Victor ‘The Chief’ Wanyama were solid all game. The ever impressive Tony Alderweireld is the stand out Spurs defender for me, courtesy of his partnership with big Jan.
The breakthrough came just before half time. Walker skinned past the Chelsea midfield for the fourth time that evening, he played it short to Eriksen who whipped in a great cross for Alli to score with the header. Cahill and Luiz looked clueless for the first time since Conte changed the playing system 13 games ago.
Where there was joy for Spurs and Alli, there was absolute terror for the stewards who watched him run into the crowd and didn’t know what to do next. Martin Atkinson played spoilsport and booked Alli for enjoying himself. The scoundrel.
I don’t get that rule by the way. People say players are out of touch but you speak to most players when they score a goal they want to celebrate for the fans. Yet when they run into the crowd or take their shirt off they get booked. I don’t often feel sorry for multi millionaires but you have to admit that is unfair.
Spurs continued to dominate the game, Chelsea’s usual tempo shown was missing with Hazard showing more of last season’s form than this. With Spurs being solid it was a carbon copy of the first goal that put Spurs in the driving seat.
Walker, down the wing, played it short to Eriksen. The ball was played to the back post to Alli, Thibout Courtois did his best to not save the ball and he and Cesar Azpilicueta were about as defensively sound as the massive gap now in the Spurs East Stand.
It was now 2-0 and Spurs were in cruise control. Chelsea couldn’t come back, despite a late surge, and therefore finished the game with the joint top flight record of thirteen straight wins. As good as Spurs were last night, Chelsea looked like they were playing for the draw rather than playing with the full flight tempo displayed over their winning streak. Going forward you hope they react to this defeat a little better than City did, after Spurs taught Pep a thing or two earlier in the season. Well, you do if you are a Chelsea fan anyway.