Tottenham 0-1 Chelsea: Joao Pedro scores the winning goal for the visitors as Spurs suffer a crushing defeat and record their lowest xG (0.05) in the Premier League since 2012-13.
Europa League glory was supposed to be a turning point in Tottenham’s history. But apart from a change of head coach and the shock departure of Daniel Levy, not much has really changed in the N17 since that fairytale night in Bilbao.
In fact, in manager Ange Postecoglou’s home Premier League match against Chelsea, Spurs took the lead and cruised to victory over their rivals in two thrilling, goal-scoring games.
Here they barely laid the glove on the Blues, with just one shot on target, in one of the most comfortable 1-0 wins I’ve ever seen. When Tottenham announced Thomas Frank as their new manager in June, the club described him as “one of the most progressive and innovative head coaches in the game”.
Other than an improved set-piece record, there’s not much to shout about, and the football is pretty bland.
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Spurs were booed and it was telling that the home fans were already leaving the venue in droves as the team headed for goal in stoppage time.
Tottenham are without eight first-team players through injury, some of whom are notable, but that is no excuse as this team looks starved for inspiration.
It doesn’t reflect well on the Premier League that this Spurs side have won only three of their last 19 league games and started the weekend in third place.
Incredibly, no team in the Premier League this season has had more away points than Tottenham (13), but only Nottingham Forest, Wolves and West Ham, also in the bottom three, have won fewer points at home than Spurs (four).
With games against much-improved Manchester United, Arsenal and PSG on the horizon, things could get pretty nasty for Frank if he doesn’t stop the bleeding soon.
There have been so many instances over the years where he’s lost his cool that it’s hard to think back. But when Chelsea were given the lead in the 34th minute, the Dane hit his water bottle and returned to his seat in a huff. It’s hard to blame him because it was an act of self-sabotage for Spurs.
First Jed Spence attempted a desperate pullback, but Xavi Simons’ weak pass to Micky van de Ven was poorly handled and the Dutchman instead of clearing his line tried to break through Moises Caicedo. Joao Pedro went home grateful after the Ecuadorian midfielder’s fine work, but make no mistake, this is farcical defending at any level, let alone in a hard-fought London derby.
Mohamed Kudus was Tottenham’s light in the darkness. Because outside of the Ghanaian’s intentional dribbling and two long-range shots in the first half, Spurs were miserable to watch. In fact, it was difficult to understand exactly what they were trying to do, as they never looked like they would be able to play through Chelsea’s defensive structure.
Simmons, who was replaced by Bergvall after just seven minutes, played a lightweight role on Tottenham’s left flank in a game where he had much to prove against a side who were keen to sign him in the summer. The Blues must have felt somewhat justified in breaking a big-money transfer deal when Simmons got hooked after hacking Alejandro Garnacho and performing miserably.
Tottenham’s left flank, made up of two right-handed players in Simmons and Spence, was all too predictable, but dangerous Chelsea looked capable of wreaking havoc every time they launched a quick breakthrough.
If Enzo Maresca’s Club World Cup winners had brought the finishing boots, there would have been a riot. This is because they missed many chances to brighten up the scoreline. The Spurs weren’t just beaten, they were outplayed, and even if they had a leg up, it was obvious stupidity.
Rodrigo Bentancur may have been sent off for nailing Reece James, Kudus needlessly beat Marc Cucurella and Spence left Enzo Fernandes with a point.
Chelsea have won 10 of their last 12 matches against Tottenham in all competitions. It really has been one of their easiest games and that reality will be very hard to bear for Spurs supporters.
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