Tottenham suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season in a nine-man scenario, losing 1-4 to Chelsea in the late match of the 11th round.
Despite a heavy defeat, Tottenham fans still rose to their feet and applauded the efforts of Son Heung-min and his teammates after the final whistle. Even though they had to play with nine players for most of the second half, the home team continued to press forward rather than resorting to defensive tactics. Chelsea, on the other hand, won convincingly with two goals scored during injury time.
Forward Nicolas Jackson scored a hat-trick but missed several more dangerous opportunities. However, HLV Mauricio Pochettino still found joy in this encounter, as it was a reunion with his former team. For neutral fans, this London derby will be hard to forget.
The first half had many notable incidents, especially when referee Michael Oliver blew the halftime whistle in the 58th minute. With 12 minutes of injury time, two goals, three disallowed goals, five yellow cards, one red card, at least seven VAR reviews, and three substitutions for the home team, this match provided the most intense emotions of the season.
The party began in the sixth minute when Tottenham played a short pass from their own half, allowing Malang Sarr to pass to Dejan Kulusevski on the right wing. The Swedish midfielder dribbled into the center and shot with his left foot, hitting defender Colwill and diverting the ball into the near corner of the net, while goalkeeper Robert Sanchez dove to the far corner. Tottenham was on a high in the Premier League, and this goal added to the excitement for the home fans.
HLV Ange Postecoglou instructed Tottenham’s defense to press high in this match, allowing them to pose a dangerous attacking threat. In the 15th minute, left midfielder Brennan Johnson overlapped with 21-year-old defender Destiny Udogie, who delivered a cross Son Heung-min slotted into the far corner of the net. However, Son’s goal was disallowed due to an offside, which VAR confirmed despite a very close call.
The match continued to provide moments of drama every few minutes. In the 19th minute, Udogie tackled Raheem Sterling, hitting the ball but narrowly missing the English forward. Referee Oliver issued a yellow card to Udogie, and VAR reviewed the incident but did not intervene. The Guardian noted that the young Italian defender was “very fortunate to escape a red card.”
Three minutes later, Thiago Silva pushed Cristian Romero, causing him to fall, but the referee did not whistle for a foul. While Romero was on the ground, he kicked Colwill in the shins, which led to the defender’s fall. The referee still did not blow the whistle, so Chelsea continued their counterattack, with Sterling dribbling into the penalty area and shooting past goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario into the net.
The referee initially allowed the goal, but Sterling did not celebrate too exuberantly as he knew the ball had touched his hand. Before Sterling, defender Pedro Porro hit the ball with his hand, so VAR did not review this incident. However, the officials did not issue a card to Romero for the foul. The Guardian likened Romero’s foul to what David Beckham did to Diego Simeone in the 1998 World Cup round of 16, but in that case, the English international received a straight red card.
Romero seemed unable to control his emotions after that incident and continued to play recklessly. In the 30th minute, Sterling dribbled into the penalty area and fell after a failed tackle by defender Micky van de Ven. The ball fell to Romero, who kicked it with his shin, but it continued to the foot of his compatriot Enzo Fernandez. The ball went in, and this time, midfielder Moises Caicedo shot low into the left corner of the net, but the referee signaled offside.
VAR did not approve Caicedo’s goal because Nicolas Jackson was in an offside position, jumped to avoid the ball, and was considered to interfere with the play. VAR then checked whether Sterling was fouled, but the slow-motion replay showed that Ven did not make contact with the Chelsea forward’s leg. Finally, VAR checked whether Romero had committed a foul, and this was the reason they called referee Oliver to review the incident.
Oliver did not take much time to award a penalty to Chelsea and showed a straight red card to Romero. In his 75 appearances for Tottenham, the Argentine defender had received 23 yellow cards and four red cards. Romero could be seen as the villain of the match for Tottenham, despite his good performances earlier in the season.
From the penalty spot, Cole Palmer shot to the right corner, and goalkeeper Vicario got a hand on it, but the ball still went into the net off the post. After this goal, Chelsea players pointed their fingers to their mouths, signaling the Tottenham fans to be quiet. From that point on, the game’s tide turned as the home team played with fewer players.
HLV Postecoglou was frustrated with the match’s developments and received a yellow card. He had even more headaches when creative midfielder James Maddison suffered a foot injury in the 42nd minute, and later, Ven, the defender, seemed to have a torn thigh muscle without any contact with anyone. Both players had to leave the field afterward, and Ven even needed help to move.
This match will be discussed for a long time, as it remained unpredictable until the final minutes. Defender Reece James, while jumping to contest a high ball, thrust his hand into Udogie’s face, but VAR did not intervene in this situation. Former defender and commentator Gary Neville likened this incident to the arm strike by Bruno Guimaraes to Jorginho’s head in the Newcastle vs. Arsenal match a day earlier.
The Australian coach continued instructing Tottenham to play with a high defensive line in the second half, allowing the away team to create numerous dangerous opportunities. The home team’s defense became even thinner after Udogie received his second yellow card in the 55th minute. Chelsea counterattacked with a three-on-two situation, but Sterling made an error and missed the timing. However, this time, he stole the ball a fraction of a second ahead of Udogie, who charged in and committed a foul. Referee Oliver quickly showed Udogie his second yellow card, resulting in an indirect red card and leaving Tottenham with only nine players on the field.
Despite a significant advantage playing with two extra players, Jackson, Sterling, Mykhailo Mudryk, and Marc Cucurella squandered several one-on-one opportunities. It wasn’t until the 75th minute that Chelsea scored their second goal, also from an offside trap situation. This time, Sterling delivered a pinpoint cross from the right for Jackson to slot the ball into the near post with his left foot, making it 2-1 for the away team.
Tottenham put the ball in the net again just four minutes later when Eric Dier volleyed in from close range. However, the goal was disallowed by a small margin as he was in an offside position. Tottenham fans were disappointed but continued to support their fighting players.
The home team continued to press high and create pressure, but it was a double-edged sword. Immediately after Son’s low-angle shot was pushed out by goalkeeper Sanchez, Chelsea counterattacked, and this time, Mudryk played Jackson through the offside trap before he slotted the ball into the net, similar to Chelsea’s second goal. Son held his head in regret after missing an opportunity earlier.
The match had a dramatic ending in the seventh minute of injury time in the second half when Palmer sent a one-touch pass from his own half through the Tottenham defense, allowing Jackson to sprint past the goalkeeper and slot the ball into the empty net with ease, completing his hat-trick. After this goal, the Senegalese forward celebrated with a Cristiano Ronaldo-style jump, and the crowd also chanted the familiar “siuuu” chant.
This defeat may not affect Tottenham’s spirits, but they will suffer from the absence of Romero for three matches, and Ven and Maddison’s return is uncertain. The positive aspect for Tottenham is that they will have a reduced fixture schedule going forward, with matches only once a week, and they hope their key players will return soon.
Lineup:
Tottenham: Vicario, Udogie, Van de Ven (Hojbjerg 45), Romero, Porro, Bissouma, Matar Sarr (Bentancur 61), Johnson (Dier 34), Maddison (Royal 45), Kulusevski (Skipp 61), Son.
Chelsea: Sanchez, Colwill (Cucurella 46), Silva, Disasi, James (Gusto 77), Fernandez (Mudryk 58), Caicedo, Sterling (Ugochukwu 91), Gallagher, Palmer, Jackson.
