It was a typically incident-filled meeting between these sworn enemies Chelsea and Tottenham hotspur but really, there was only one place to start.
Postecoglou’s Controversial Substitution
Ange Postecoglou, the remorselessly under-pressure Tottenham boss, had been booed by his own fans.This booing took place when Postecoglu withdrew Lucas Bergvall and replaced him with Pape Sarr in the 64th minute. Like all the other Spurs players, Bergvall had labored to make an impression but the fans do have a soft spot for him.
“You don’t know what you’re doing,” they informed Postecoglou. So just imagine how the fiercely proud Australian must have felt shortly afterwards when Sarr won the ball off Moisés Caicedo and unloaded a low shot from distance, which the Chelsea goalkeeper, Robert Sánchez, inexplicably allowed to beat him.
Chelsea Manager Postecoglou’s Reaction and the VAR Drama
Well, we wouldn’t have to dream because Postecoglou demonstrated. With the press box directly behind him, he faced the Spurs supporters. The Totteham supports who were lost in joy, and cupped his ear towards them before standing and glaring at them.
At the time it was impossible to credit that this was anything other than hostility from Postecoglou getting out of hand. There have been flashpoints previously between him and the fans. Remember the scenes after the Bournemouth defeat in December? Postecoglou’s try-on backtracking in his post-match talks, saying he was just happy to enjoy the celebrations, to listen to the applause, was bizarre at least. The ear-cup is not a subject for interpretation.
There would be a surprise when the VAR, Jarred Gillett, reviewed the Sarr challenge on Caicedo and he did not have to look far to spot the foul, although he still took around six minutes. Sarr had kicked Caicedo’s knee. The goal was ruled out. Sarr was cautioned. Postecoglou seethed in rage.
Chelsea’s Dominance and Spurs’ Struggles
Chelsea had been in total charge until the Bergvall/Sarr switch, dominating through Enzo Fernández’s header, the only surprise being that they were not further ahead. Guglielmo Vicario produced a breathtaking save to thwart Jadon Sancho. The brilliant Caicedo had a goal ruled out by the VAR. Spurs had not done the very fundamentals, quite a number of them, starting with bringing some kind of fight.
The strange thing was that as tempers flared and the match disintegrated, Spurs staged something of a comeback. They got on the front foot and there was a possibility of feeling a couple of jitters in the Chelsea fans. Enzo Maresca’s team owed Sánchez one, however, for a brilliant save from Son Heung-min just before the board was held up to indicate 12 minutes’ worth of stoppages.
A Losing Battle for Spurs
It was hard in the extreme however to argue Spurs’ case. The rally could not hide the fault-lines and this was a game for which Postecoglou had all of his first-choice players available with the exception of injured Dejan Kulusevski. For the manager, it was four of the most unwanted of a kind, a fourth defeat in four against Chelsea over two seasons. And, to press the poker comparison, it was tempting to speculate if we were gazing upon a busted flush.
When it was all over, Postecoglou deliberately avoided following his players over to the end that housed the travelling fans. There was no applause from him towards them. In the build-up to the game Postecoglou had admitted there was “maybe a large portion of Tottenham fans who have lost a bit of faith and belief in what we’re doing.” There was little to redress the balance.
Champions League Aspirations of Chelsea
Maresca’s eyes are on a Champions League finish. Previously he had indicated that six more victories would be enough. This was No 1, something to ignite momentum for the challenges to come. Postecoglou, on the other hand, can see the season and likely his future hanging on the Europa League, where his team play Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-finals. This was a warm-up that did not fire.
Early Dominance by Chelsea
Maresca had brought back Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson to the starting eleven and the latter was a handful. He nearly got in with less than a minute elapsed, bursting in between Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven to push goalwards. Vicario half-blocked and when Van de Ven’s panicked clearance struck Jackson, the ball bounced off a post and away.
Chelsea were in the mood from the start, playing high, controlling the duels. Spurs struggled to escape. Postecoglou seethed with frustration as it bubbled over. He gave a rollicking to Bergvall in the 20th minute when the midfielder didn’t pick up a run into the box by Palmer, who delivered a low cross. Destiny Udogie produced a saving tackle on Fernández in front of goal.
Spurs’ Weaknesses and Chelsea’s Control
Chelsea managed to create space between the lines, to play their passing rhythms while Spurs were nervous on the ball, held in fear. They kept losing passes time and again. Son had a low shot from a tight angle, which Sánchez shovel-kicked away but that was as much as they managed to create as an attacking unit in the first half.
It was infuriating for Chelsea that they were not able to leave a lead in the interval. Malo Gusto had riffled into side-netting after eight minutes and there was Vicario’s incredible reflex save at Sancho’s close-range shoot in stoppage-time.
Chelsea again dominated from the restart, Palmer working Vicario and subsequently crossing for Fernández to nod home. Spurs’s defensive cohesion had collapsed. Fernández was unsupervised. Spurs got a let-off when Caicedo fizzed in a volley after the visitors had half-cleared a set piece only for VAR to decide that Levi Colwill was offside in the middle. Following Van de Ven’s close call at the other end, the next VAR intervention would decide the script.