Tottenham Hotspur lost to Chelsea FC and missed out on the Champions League places. Hardly any attacking threat and two goals conceded from set pieces led to the defeat against the Blues
In the race for the Champions League places, Tottenham urgently needed points to close the gap on Aston Villa in fourth place. Werner and Davies were both missing through injury in the replay at Stamford Bridge, while Bentancur, Maddison and Höjbjerg were all on the bench. Spurs coach Ange Postecoglou started Emerson Royal, Bissouma, Sarr, Johnson and Richarlison after the 3-2 defeat to Arsenal.
Chelsea – with only Gilchrist in place of the injured Thiago Silva after the 2-2 draw against Aston Villa – got off to the better start at home. Madueke and Mudryk came up the wings with plenty of pace and repeatedly created danger. The latter created the first big chance for Jackson. The striker beat Vicario in the Spurs goal, but van de Ven made a strong save with a sliding tackle (5′).
Chlobah rewards better Blues
The Spurs lacked creativity in attack. Top scorer Son had hardly any action in the first half and the crosses from the visitors’ most active player Johnson were mostly intercepted. Chelsea, on the other hand, initially went closer – Madueke flicked the ball just over the goal (23′) – and took the lead shortly afterwards: Chalobah headed too freely from Gallagher’s free-kick into the far corner via Vicario (24′).
Spurs did not create any dangerous attacking moves until the closing stages of the first half. Sarr had the best chance from play (45.+2), after Romero had headed just wide from a free-kick (38). However, the visitors took the deficit into the half-time break
Spurs remain harmless – Jackson increases
The second half got off to a fast-paced start with a rapid phase in both directions, as Spurs and their attacking players Son and Richarlison were now much more active than they had been for long stretches of the first half. However, they continued to miss clear-cut chances. The inactivity continued after the Blues’ second goal – Jackson headed in after Palmer’s free-kick bounced against the crossbar (72′) – and Chelsea’s victory was no longer in danger
The defeat leaves Tottenham seven points off fourth place in the Champions League. The next game for both teams is next Sunday: Chelsea host West Ham at 3pm and Spurs visit Liverpool FC (5.30pm).
