Chelsea moved as much as fourth within the Premier League, degree on factors with Tottenham Hotspur, after the Blues claimed London derby bragging rights with a 1-0 victory on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Joao Pedro grabbed the one objective of the sport mid-way via the first-half following some questionable Spurs defending and noticed out the rest of the sport to take all three factors.
Enzo Maresca’s facet restricted their hosts to only a few possibilities, whereas Thomas Frank’s males seemed defensively frail on a number of events in entrance of their dwelling followers.
A degree would have been sufficient to see Frank’s group leapfrog Bournemouth into second however, regardless of defeat, they continue to be in third.
Tottenham v Chelsea because it occurred
Historical past was definitely not on Spurs’ facet, having gained simply eight Premier League matches towards Chelsea in 66 conferences. The Blues had gained the final 4.
And the early indicators on this contest have been foreboding for the hosts. Simply 5 minutes had elapsed when Frank was compelled right into a change after Lucas Bergvall suffered a suspected concussion.
Issues seemed much more ominous when, simply after the half-hour mark, Frank’s facet performed themselves into hassle close to their very own field, permitting Joao Pedro a sight of objective, however Vicario reacted rapidly to save lots of properly along with his legs.
The Brazilian would get the higher of the Spurs keeper simply moments later, nonetheless. Moises Caicedo gained the ball again excessive up the pitch off Micky Van de Ven, earlier than charging into the field and rolling the ball throughout the six-yard field into the trail of Joao Pedro who swept dwelling.
The Chelsea striker once more went shut two minutes earlier than the break, Vicario palming his fierce goal-bound effort over the bar.
On the different finish, Robert Sanchez wanted to be readily available to push away Mohammed Kudus’ curling effort as the primary 45 led to frantic style.
Tottenham seemed extra assured after the break however they nonetheless had moments of uncertainty on the again.
Neto had a fierce shot batted away by Vicario earlier than Reece James sprayed a long-distance effort over the bar.
Because the clock ticked over into stoppage time, substitute Jamie Gittens and Joao Pedro each wasted superb possibilities to place a sheen on the end result.
Ultimately, it mattered little. The Blues emerged victorious to maneuver up the desk and prolong their spectacular report towards their metropolis rivals.
