Chelsea overcome one-game crisis with gritty Tottenham win
Chelsea came out of their extremely dark and deep one-game crisis to emerge from Wembley Stadium with a 2-1 win over Tottenham. The campaign is back on track.
After a worrying pre-season and poor performances against Arsenal and Burnley, Chelsea were supposed to be run over by Tottenham Hotspur. Instead, they turned up with fresh tactics and rode a storm to come away with a very important victory. Marcos Alonso was the hero as the Blues showed the sort of grit that they will desperately need this season.
Antonio Conte surprised many with his initial team selection. Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen got the start in the back three. David Luiz, meanwhile, joined the debuting Tiemoue Bakayoko alongside N’Golo Kante in central midfield.
Victor Moses and Alonso were the wingbacks while Willian was a number 10 to Alvaro Morata’s number 9.
The Blues started brightly, getting onto the front foot and pressuring the hosts. Given their awful record at Wembley, Chelsea were keen to make them as nervous and uneasy as possible.
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They were nearly rewarded too, but Morata threw back to Fernando Torres by directing a sitter of a header past the post. Quite how he missed is still difficult to fathom.
Spurs settled into the half and began exploiting a careless Luiz. Due to genuine unfamiliarity with the role, or just not being very good at defending, the Brazilian left many holes for Spurs to play through.
However, Chelsea broke the deadlock in the 24th minute. Dele Alli committed a silly foul near the Tottenham area. Alonso lined it up and with a 90 degree run-up, put the ball in top right corner. It flew over a fully extended wall and into the one part of the goal Hugo Lloris could not reach. It was simply magnificent.
Spurs used this as an excuse to kick into gear and the Blues were soaking up pressure for the rest of the half. The last five minutes of the first period were particularly nerve-racking for Chelsea fans as Tottenham bashed at the door. Fortunately, the whistle came before the hinges gave way.
The second half saw the Blues continue to defend resiliently. Spurs kept on coming with wave after wave, but there was no way through. Harry Kane was trying his best and they did receive some decent opportunities, but Thibaut Courtois was not troubled all that much.
The hosts received the goal they deserved with six minutes left on the clock. A careless challenge from Tiemoue Bakayoko gifted Spurs a dangerous free-kick. Christian Eriksen delivered a teasing ball which was diverted past Courtois. Unfortunately, Michy Batshuayi once again laid bare his troubles with finding the right net by heading Eriksen’s cross into his own.
The momentum was with Mauricio Pochettino’s men, but somehow the Blues found the winner. David Luiz nabbed the ball while Spurs tried to break and Alonso was slotted in. His effort went underneath Lloris; the Frenchman will be disappointed with his role in the goal.
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All in all, it was a gritty performance from a team that desperately wanted to avoid back-to-back defeats. There is so much work to be done, especially ahead of Champions League football, but this result will boost the confidence. The one-game crisis can be declared over.