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As the saying goes, fail to prepare, prepare to fail. Ange Postecoglou insisted Tottenham had “far more important issues” than defending set-pieces before a second London derby in five days, but a potential problem for the Spurs manager is now growing into a crisis after this defeat to Chelsea. A third defeat in a row for Postecoglou’s side was a further blow to their hopes of catching Aston Villa in the race for the final Champions League place and ensured the visitors remained seven points adrift of the top-four with four games to go.
A tetchy Postecoglou went from exasperated to downright livid when Trevoh Chalobah scored the opening goal with an unmarked header at the back post, created by Conor Gallagher’s delivery and a clever block on the edge of the box. Nicolas Jackson’s second-half header, which came after Cole Palmer rattled the crossbar with a wonderful free-kick, means that five goals from the last six Tottenham have conceded have been from set-pieces, following the 3-2 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday and the 4-0 thrashing at Newcastle two weeks before.
Mauricio Pochettino, meanwhile, secured a Premier League double over his former side while ensuring he remains the only Tottenham manager to have won at Stamford Bridge in the last 34 years. Pochettino’s injury-hit and depleted side were vibrant in the first half and defended their lead doggedly in the second. Without 14 senior players and a substitutes bench mostly comprised of untested teenagers, Pochettino summoned a committed performance from those who remained to keep Chelsea’s hopes of qualifying for Europe next season alive.
Perhaps facing adversity strengthened Chelsea’s cause. This was a very good night for Pochettino, less so for Postecoglou, who had laughed off his side’s struggles from defending set-pieces following Sunday’s defeat to Arsenal by quoting Billy Joel. This was no laughing matter for the Australian, though, and his team’s form has been that of a mid-table side at best since they won eight of their first 10 games of the season. A decision to drop James Maddison backfired and Tottenham offered too little, too late following a lacklustre display.
It was the eight-year anniversary of the ‘Battle of the Bridge’, the infamously ill-tempered night where a Chelsea comeback denied Pochettino’s Tottenham the title and crowned Leicester champions, but a warm embrace between the managers ensured this London derby lacked the fireworks of previous years. The last meeting between Chelsea and Tottenham at Stamford Bridge led to the explosive full-time handshake between Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte, but here Postecoglou’s fury was directed at his own players.
Postecoglou spent much of the opening half becoming increasingly livid with his midfield duo of Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Saar, grumbling on the touchline. Chelsea were able to cut through Spurs with ease, in part due to a couple of lively displays on the wings from Noni Madueke and Mykhailo Mudryk and through the willingness of Jackson.
Pochettino’s team should have taken the lead inside five minutes when Mudryk slipped Jackson through and the forward looked to squeeze a finish between the legs of Guglielmo Vicario. The recovering Micky van de Ven cleared off his line but it fell straight to Palmer two yards out. To the surprise of everyone inside Stamford Bridge, Palmer lifted the chance over the crossbar.
Tottenham couldn’t get out and struggled to keep the ball; with Chelsea asserting themselves well in midfield as the left-back Marc Cucurella tucked alongside Moises Caicedo. With Chelsea on top, Tottenham’s set-piece defending was given a thorough examination: they survived an early couple of tests from inswinging corners, as Gallagher and Madueke crowded around the goalkeeper Vicario and Chelsea followed Arsenal by targeting the packed six-yard box. Spurs cleared but were unconvincing. Second-best in all departments, Postecoglou’s side conceded more free kicks and invited further pressure.
Eventually, Chelsea struck, after Emerson Royal committed a needless foul on Madueke. Postecoglou was furious enough with that, yet he would get angrier still when Gallagher’s delivery at the back post found Chalobah, who was left unmarked and with space in the box when Marc Cucurella blocked Brennan Johnson. Chalobah’s header was superb, looping back across goal and into the top right corner. The set-piece routine was clever from Chelsea but naive from Spurs, who complained that Cucurella had fouled Johnson but were not granted a reprieve from the VAR. Postecoglou’s side only had themselves to blame, however. Chelsea had done their homework; Tottenham, evidently, had forgotten theirs.
Tottenham improved after the break – though they could have hardly been worse. Spurs made a bright start to the second half and the introduction of Maddison, in a triple change that saw Saar and Bissouma replaced by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur, saw their usual fluency return. Pedro Porro saw Tottenahm’s first shot on target saved by Djordje Petrovic. Chelsea, without Tottenham’s options on the bench, were beginning to hang on and Johnson’s ball flashed across the face was a further warning sign, though Son Heung-min was marginally offside in the build-up.
It was a relief, therefore, when Dejan Kulusevski fouled Cucurella on the edge of the box and left Tottenham with another free-kick to defend. This time, though, Palmer only had eyes for goal and his whipping shot crashed off the underside of the crossbar. Jackson was quickest to react and did superbly well to generate enough power on the header to get it over the line. An 11th Premier League goal of the season was just reward for another selfless, committed performance leading the line. Yet this was another night where Postecoglou was left to reflect on the character of his own players.