Ange Postecoglou took on the Tottenham Hotspur supporters as his team fell to their 16th Premier League defeat of the season and he set a new unwanted record.
Enzo Fernandez’s winning goal meant that Postecoglou became the first Spurs manager to lose all of his first four games against London rivals Chelsea.
And Postecoglou’s relationship with the Tottenham fans may well have reached breaking point after he responded to their chants of ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ by cupping his ear to mock them.
The Spurs supporters had reacted angrily to Postecoglou’s decision to replace Lucas Bergvall with Pape Sarr. The Australian thought he had had the last laugh when Sarr scored, but the joke was on Postecoglou when the goal was ruled out following a VAR check.
While the pressure on Postecoglou will now be even greater, this was a result that came as a huge boost for Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca and his team’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.
10:57 PM BST
And finally James Maddison
For whom hope springs...
10:38 PM BST
Enzo Maresca speaks
Both performance and result were quite good but at this stage the result is more important. We try to achieve the result playing the way we want to play and at times we [did]. If we want to be a calm and important team we have to win this type of game in an ugly way.
We created enough chances in the first half and in the last 10 minutes we showed effort, togetherness, spirit.
Until the end, it’ll be close. We have been there all season. The first four months we were even better, now it’s up to us to finish well.
10:35 PM BST
Ange Postecoglou speaks to Sky Sports
Difficult night, tight game. Not an easy place to come. You have to work hard to stay in the game. They scored a disappointing goal but we forced our way back in the game but unfortunately we couldn’t get the goal.
It’s a work in progress [playing his way]. It’s the first time we’ve had the group together and there were elements of it [Angeball]. We didn’t get locked in tonight. We could have been a little bit cleaner with our football. But for the most part we handled it well.
It’s a tough ask coming here but there was enough there tonight to say the lads are getting back to the level we need to get to.
VAR is killing the game. We all saw on TV last night [the non sending off of Tarkowski] and if Jared Gillett had been the VAR [there, at Anfield] it [Tarkowski] would have had a different outcome. You just don’t know what you’re going to get and everyone’s standing around for 12 minutes but no one seems to care. They love the drama and controversy. They want a 24-hour discussion about it but it’s killing the game.
What was clear and obvious about it? The referee had to look at it three or four times. Last nigh we sat on our couches and all went ‘Oh my God!’ Tonight we stood for six minutes for Jarred Gillett. It’s madness but we accept it and when we accept it we have to take the fallout.
What does clear and obvious mean to you. Do you think it was a foul? [Yes]
I wanted the supporters to cheer. I thought it was a cracking goal. They’ve booed my substitutions before. It had nothing to do with thjem booing my substitutions.
[In your interview with Mark Scwarzer this week you acknowledged you had lost some of the Tottenham support]. You’re trying really hard, mate but my view is that it was a tight game decided by a really poor decision.
Apart from that everyone got through healthy, we got some minutes into players and we move on to Sunday.
10:16 PM BST
Record v Chelsea
Ange Postecoglou has now lost all four of his games against Chelsea.
10:11 PM BST
How Chelsea’s win leaves the table
10:08 PM BST
Tottenham fans vent their fury
The Spurs players are being given some grief by the fans who stayed behind, flicking the Vs at them and leaving them in no doubt. Postecoglou did not go over to them after they ridiculed his substitution of Bergvall for Sarr and he tried to indulge in some schadenfreude when he thought Sarr had equalised. But it bit him on the backside via VAR.
10:05 PM BST
Full time: Chelsea 1 Tottenham 0
Chelsea were the better side but it was a tight match and went the way of so many of these fixtures for the past 35 years. They go back into the top four. Tottenham, in this author’s opinion, are in big trouble and can’t carry on like this. They looked so flat.
10:03 PM BST
90+12 min: Chelsea 1 Spurs 0
Vicario, in the centre-circle, chips it long. Son wins it and lays it off and Bentancur chips it for Solanke to the right of the penalty spot. Cucurella wins the header and Chelsea break... or would have done if Spence hadn’t brought down Madueke at the cost of Tottenham’s fifth yellow card.
10:00 PM BST
90+10 min: Chelsea 1 Spurs 0
Now Tottenham do get a corner, using the shins of a defender to rebound the ball behind. The corner is rubbish though and Chelsea easily defend it until Spurs commit a foul on the right. Johnson irked to be penalised smashes the ball into teh hoardings which was his second offence of dissent in two minutes but Pawson ignores it.
09:58 PM BST
90+8 min: Chelsea 1 Spurs 0
Porro is booked for yelling at the linesman who gave a goal-kick when it should have been a corner, the ball nicking Dewsbury-Hall’s foot. Clear dissent. And Johnson gets one for joining in.
09:56 PM BST
90+6 min: Chelsea 1 Spurs 0
Spurs work the ball out to Tel in space down the left but he spoons his cross straight into Sanchez’s chest.
09:55 PM BST
90+4 min: Chelsea 1 Spurs 0
Actually, I think Smith meant he had lost faith in Son rather than the player losing faith in himself.
Chelsea are protecting their lead by running down the clock but may have started it too soon.
09:53 PM BST
90+2 min: Chelsea 1 Spurs 0
Dewsbury-Hall → Fernandez
Tosin → Palmer.
Spence is at left centre-back for Spurs.
Alan Smith says Son is in that phase of his career where he seems to lack all conviction. He has had a poor season. Is that it for him, now. mojo-wise?
Twelve (!) minutes of injury time and Maresca has replaced Palmer with Tosin, a centre-back. That speaks volumes, I think, of what Maresca expects from the remainder of this game. He’s also got Malo Gusto, a full-back, playing as a left winger.
09:51 PM BST
90 min: Chelsea 1 Spurs 0
Great save from Sanchez, throwing himself from a low base to stop Son’s stab at the far post as he telescoped out a left leg to hook Johnson’s cross on target.
Twelve minutes of stoppage time are signalled. A DOZEN! For all the VAR interventions rather than injuries.
09:49 PM BST
88 min: Chelsea 1 Spurs 0
VAR check for a Chelsea penalty shout that the ref deemed a fair tackle. Udogie had put his leg round Fernandez to prod the ball and the Chelsea captain went over the hurdle.
09:47 PM BST
85 min: Chelsea 1 Spurs 0
Chelsea have a free-kick parallel with the 18-yard line wide on the right. Colwill shoves his marker before the ball’s delivered so the free-kick goes the other way. Spurs knock it long but from the wrong starting position and Palmer chases it back then throws the ball away rather than giving it to Solanke so he is booked.
Tel → Maddison
Porro → Van de Ven.
09:44 PM BST
83 min: Chelsea 1 Spurs 0
James → Jackson, who departs to a hearty ovation. What a difference 18 months makes.
Vicario claws away Palmer’s cross/shot that seemed to on a trajectory to dip in.
09:43 PM BST
81 min: Chelsea 1 Spurs 0
Spence blazes over in the melee after the corner was headed out and recycled to the left. Maddison’s second attempt at the cross bobbles out in a scramble to the right-back who can’t get his knee above it. The Spurs players ask the referee to look for a Cucurelal handball as he dealt with the cross but he isn’t interested... and nor is VAR.
09:40 PM BST
79 min: Chelsea 1 Spurs 0
Apologis, it was Sancho who went off not Neto and now the Portuhal winger hs been penalised for chopping Son down across the ankles. Spurs free-kick, left of centre, 19 yards out at most.
Maddison hits the wall and the ball deflects behind for a corner.
09:37 PM BST
76 min: Chelsea 1 Spurs 0
Sarr and Caicedo were having a ding-dong about the Spurs player’s ‘dive’ moments before he swiped him across the knee and rocketed a shot in. That would have been the ultimate two fingers from Sarr.
09:34 PM BST
74 min: Chelsea 1 Spurs 0
Madueke → Sancho.
Cucurella is booked for dissent. Postecoglou is seething, about the goal being disallowed rather than Cucurella’s booking.
It’s all happening now. Postecoglou responded to the goal by cupping his ears to the away fans who had booed his decision to remove Bergvall for Sarr. And now it’s been ruled out. He really can’t catch a break, can he?
09:32 PM BST
No goal
Sarr kicked him on the side of the knee which put him through to shoot. Mind, Sanchez should have done much better. And Sarr is booked for the foul.
09:31 PM BST
VAR check
Sarr seemed to have fouled Caicedo in the build-up. Pawson has been sent to the screen.
09:29 PM BST
GOAL!?
Chelsea 1 Tottenham 1 (Sarr) Smashed it from 30 yards and Sanchez couldn’t stop it though he got a hand to it.
09:29 PM BST
67 min: Chelsea 1 Spurs 0
Booking for Jackson for a late lunge on Romero then up the pother end from the free-kick Sarr dives when shoulder-to-shoulder with Caicedo.
09:27 PM BST
65 min: Chelsea 1 Spurs 0
Son’s corner is headed to the edge of the box, Maddison puts it back into the box and it snakes through via another touch just in front of Van de Ven who swings his right leg at it but without any power and Sanchez makes a comfortable save.
09:26 PM BST
63 min: Chelsea 1 Spurs 0
Spurs want a penalty rather than a corner when Chalobah slides in to block Udogie’s cross and knock it behind with a his arm. The ref deems the arm was breaking his fall and not in an unnatural position.
09:25 PM BST
63 min: Chelsea 1 Spurs 0
Neto’s 25-yard shot from the inside-right channel is sliced out for a throw-in by the left corner flag.
Postecoglou shakes things up:
Johnson → Odobert
Sarr → Bergvall.
The Spurs fans are not happy with that decision to substitute Lucas Bergvall. There were some boos from the away end, followed by chants, seemingly aimed at Postecoglou, of: “You don’t know what you’re doing.”
09:23 PM BST
61 min: Chelsea 1 Spurs 0
Solanke loses the ball when they play it out short from the back and then commits a foul to try to win it back. Chelsea free-kick 25 yards out on the right.
You look at Tottenham and their talent and one can’t help feeling they’re badly organised. Yes, they lack confidence but also structure and discipline.
09:21 PM BST
59 min: Chelsea 1 Spurs 0
That took four minutes to sort out it was so tight. No wonder the cry of F--- VAR echoed around the Bridge.
Spurs are still in it by the skin of their teeth. Actually ‘seat of their pants’ as they’ve been utterly toothless.
09:19 PM BST
No goal
Takes ages to sort out but Colwill was offside when he headed it back for Caicedo to rattle in from outside the box with a wonder strike. Shame! And given it came from the free-kick foolishly concede by Romero and Maddison, they escape further punishment.
09:16 PM BST
GOAL!?
Chelsea 2 Tottenham 0 (Caicedo) VAR check for offside.
09:15 PM BST
53 min: Chelsea 1 Spurs 0
Weak defensive header from Spence almost lets Palmer and Sancho in on goal but Viacrio bails him out. Maddison and Romero lazily bring Neto down, Romero’s attempt failing so Maddison barged him over rather than do the hard work of hounding him and being in the right position in the first place.
09:09 PM BST
GOAL!
Chelsea 1 Spurs 0 (Enzo) Spurs have been living dangerously too long. Thirty seconds before their goal was breached, Bentancur and Romero let Palmer twist, turn, feint and thunder a drive that Vicario saved well, diving low to his right. The ball goes out to the Chelsea left and Cucurella plays a reverse pass to Palmer who arrows over the perfect dipping cross. Fernandez, bisecting Romero and Van de Ven buries a header from seven yards. Superb cross. Poor defending nonetheless.
Fabulous cross by Palmer and a lovely header by Fernandez but, from a Spurs perspective, that simply cannot be allowed to happen. There was seemingly no defensive awareness, from anyone in that penalty box, that Fernandez had made a run towards goal. They were all static. Chelsea deserve their lead.
09:08 PM BST
48 min: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
Enzo chips the ball into the box seemingly without much menace but Solanke slips when trying to clear but neither Chalobah or Colwill can react quickly enough to stab the ball in from six yards.
09:06 PM BST
46 min: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
No changes. Chelsea kick off and try to get Neto going down the right but he steps inside and is fouled by Udogie, 40 yards out.
08:53 PM BST
Half-time verdict
That tussle between two teams probably sums up this first half: lots of energy, willing and feistiness, but without either team being able to land a decent hit on the opposition. More testosterone on display than technical class.
08:52 PM BST
Half-time: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
Chelsea have been the better side in an entertaining game and ought to have been ahead in the first minute or 45th. Vicario, who had been tottering, pulled off a terrific save at the last to send his team in level. The few times Spurs have looked dangerous have come down the wings. They need to find Solanke more. Maddison carries himself as if he thinks he’s a top player, which he can be against weaker opposition, but he rarely grabs a game like this and bends it to his will.
08:48 PM BST
45+1 min: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
Handbags and lots of chest bumping as Colwill takes a massive dive when the ball was dead and Romero wanted to get on with the game. Chalobah raced over to shove Romero back and then six or seven joined the maul, poking and prodding each other. It ends with yellow cards for Romero and Chalobah.
08:46 PM BST
44 min: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
After all that criticism, Vicario makes a fine save to tip Sancho’s driven shot over at full stretch with his left hand. It came after a good spell of Chelsea possession and then Neto injected some urgency with a deep cross from the right that Cucurella darted in to head but could not reach and it fell to Sancho at the back post to control and shoot powerfully towards the top right.
08:43 PM BST
42 min: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
Udogie is free on the overlap and receives the pass down the line only to cross first time straight to a blue shirt.
08:41 PM BST
40 min: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
Twice in a minute Spurs are caught offside when there was no need. Simply carelessness from Maddison and then Udogie.
08:40 PM BST
38 min: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
Chelsea defend the corner firmly and Jackson is eased off the ball by Van de Ven when found by Gusto’s lovely pass as he tried to lead a counter.
08:38 PM BST
36 min: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
Sancho runs at Spence who slips but then the on-loan winger wastes the chance with a rubbish pass. Maddison, who couldn’t get into the game, sweeps a pass out to Son on the left and the captain’s cross/shot, is palmed away by Sanchez with a strong wrist to the edge of the area. Chelsea stop the shot and Spurs work it back out for Son whose second cross is turned behind for a corner.
08:35 PM BST
33 min: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
Van de Ven slides in on Palmer 20 yards out as the forward chopped inside and wipes him put. The ref says it was a fair tackle, which it wasn’t, and waves away Palmer’s complaints.
Loud bangs seemingly from outside the ground, which we hope are nothing more than fireworks, spook a couple of the players but there’s no mention of it on commentary.
08:31 PM BST
31 min: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
Jackson finds space down the left and cuts in on his right aiming for the top right corner with a bending shot that he balloons over.
08:30 PM BST
30 min: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
Can you credibly hook your goalkeeper after half an hour? Vicario tries to play out from the back with a pass to Udogie who is tightly marked by Enzo. It would have led to disaster had Enzo not clipped Udogie in the tackle and the left-back sold it convincingly as a foul to the referee.
He has not exactly been slick on the ball but you can see the difference that Nicolas Jackson makes to this Chelsea attack. The ability to stretch teams, to pull defenders out of position, is something they have been missing in his absence.
08:28 PM BST
28 min: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
Neto pushes on down the right and reaches the byline to whip over a cross that parts Palmer’s hair as he ghosted through the middle, eight yards out. No one picked him up. No one has picked up any of his late runs.
It has been a very enjoyable start to this game. Chelsea have been more dangerous, as you would expect, but it feels like either team could break through at any moment. Spurs have had a few openings.
08:26 PM BST
26 min: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
The referee is blindsided by Bergvall as he tries to cut out a pass to Palmer and stops the game when the Spurs midfielder hist the deck. They restart with an uncontested drop ball and Chelsea shift it up their left. Vicario comes out to clear the overhit pass and shanks it into touch. He has ants in his pants today.
Worth keeping an eye on him as he’s been all over the shop.
08:25 PM BST
24 min: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
Crossfield pass from left to right catches Udogie on his toes and Neto cushions it, faces up the full-back and arrows a left-foot cross to the back post that clears the heads of Palmer and Jackson by about 18 inches.
08:23 PM BST
22 min: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
Ange Postecoglou has just shouted in exasperation ‘Every time!’ upbraiding Spence and Odobert, either one of them or both.
08:21 PM BST
20 min: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
Promising run by Bergvall up the right where Spurs have looked most threatening when they get behind Cucurella. His cross to the back post has power if not precision and Chelsea scramble it away.
08:20 PM BST
18 min: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
Vicario slides in to grab the ball a foot from his line after Palmer nutmegged Romero with a cross from the left of the box to the six-yard line. Fernandez went for it with Udogie who beat him to it to knock it backwards and Vicario came to his rescue.
08:17 PM BST
16 min: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
Good run by Bentancur down the right after Odobert made space for him. He whips the cross in and Solanke edges across Chaloba to try to hook it in on the half-volley but he swipes at it and can’t make proper contact though he tells the referee that Chalobah bumped him illegally and put him off. Pawson waves him away.
08:15 PM BST
14 min: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
After a lecture to Romero and Fernandez, telling them to stop wrestling which they ignore, Vicario flaps at the corner with a weak punch and moments later comes off his line and punches again, also feebly but gets away with it when it goes to one of his own players. What on earth is he playing at?
08:13 PM BST
12 min: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
Mor Spurs doziness from Udogie this time as he gives the ball away sloppily on halfway and leaves Chelsea players piling through the middle and right to flood the Tottenham box with blue shirts. Sancho receives the pass to the left of centre and cuts in to shoot, aiming for the bottom right. It takes a deflection and goes behind for a corner.
08:11 PM BST
10 min: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
They may have their preferred back four and keeper out there but Spurs look very shaky and Vivario just avoided, by a fortunate bounce, kicking the ball straight to Neto.
08:09 PM BST
9 min: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
A quarter of the crowd are on their feet and shouting ‘Goal!’ by virtue of an optical illusion as Gusto rakes a 20-yard shot into the side-netting.
08:08 PM BST
7 min: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
They have just shown the replay of the Jackson chance and there was evidence that he may have controlled it with his left biceps but would that have been deemed hand ball. The ball then went from Vicario into Van de Ven’s foot which sent it goalbound until it struck Jackson on the shin which deflected it into the post. Jackson blocked the possible own goal.
08:05 PM BST
5 min: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
Spurs break after another heart in the mouth moment at the back and Son earns a corner with a left-foot shot into a defender, a corner that they waste.
Caicedo tried to thwart the counter with a tackle on Spence in which he seems to hurt his thigh when they collide. Dead leg possibly.
08:03 PM BST
3 min: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
Monumental cock-up in the Spurs defence as the rangy Jackson gambols through the middle, drifts slightly to the right and takes a 40-yard ball slotted between Van de Ven and Romero. Bad enough to let him through but then Vicario and Van de Ven get into a tangle with the ball ricocheting between them and on to Jackson and then the post.
08:01 PM BST
1 min: Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
Tottenham kick off after the final strains of Blue is the Colour fade. Caicedo goes down very easily under pressure from Bergvall and Chelsea have a free-kick just inside their own half.
07:59 PM BST
Back in tandem
This is the first time Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven have started together in the heart of Tottenham Hotspur’s defence since December 8, against Chelsea. Of all the injury issues Spurs have had this season, the loss of those two was surely the most damaging.
07:58 PM BST
The teams are out and shake hands
Most of the Chelsea mascots make ice cold Chilly Palmer moves before breaking away from the line.
07:56 PM BST
The teams are in the tunnel
Cue:
07:48 PM BST
Ange Postecoglou speaks to Sky Sports
We’re getting there in terms of personnel and numbers and in terms of match fitness. International break was good for us. Some players got some game time that they needed. We’re in good shape.
We’ve missed the understanding and relationship those two -Can de Ven and Romero] had from the first moment we put them together. They’re really good defenders but also give us good opportunities of building from the back.
It’s going to be a tough game, away from home against a top team, just as we’ll face in the Europa League.
07:39 PM BST
Enzo Maresca talks to Sky Sports
Palmer and Jackson are both important players and Noni on the bench. Finally they are back. Nico is very important for us off the ball, the way we press is aggressive with Nico, with goals and assists, bit an important player for the way we play.
Cole may have benefited from the rest but so would all the players. From now on it’s how we manage the emotion, you have to manage the situation if you win or lose but we will be there [fighting for the top four] until the end and want to bring this club back to where it has to be.
07:10 PM BST
And now for those of you watching in black and white
Chelsea Sánchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernández; Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson.
Substitutes Jorgensen, Tosin, Badiashile, Acheampong, James, Dewsbury-Hall, Madueke, George, Nkunku.
Tottenham Vicario; Spence, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bergvall, Bentancur; Odobert, Maddison, Son; Solanke.
Substitutes Kinsky, Porro, Davies, Gray, Bissouma, Sarr, Moore, Johnson, Tel.
Referee Craig Pawson (Sheffield)
07:04 PM BST
Line-ups
Seems to me a pretty adventurous line-up from Tottenham, characteristic of Postecoglou. Interesting to see how Bentancur and Bergvall fare as a partnership. I’d be worried about them coping with Chelsea’s runners if their centre-backs are pushed typicall high.
For Chelsea Neto and Sancho ought to be able to find some space at times but will have to help out their full-backs with both sides essentially using the wide positions in defence and attack to stretch the play. Palmer hadn’t been in great form before his absence and Spurs are not a man-marking team but if he finds his spark, he could be hard to handle in the pockets between Romero and Bentancur, Van de Ven and Bergvall.
06:48 PM BST
Tottenham team news
Changes to the team that started the defeat by Fulham are Van de Ven comes in for Davies, Bergvall for Gray, Maddison for Bissouma, Odobert for Tel and Son for Johnson.
06:47 PM BST
Chelsea team news: Jackson and Palmer are back
I make that four changes to the starting XI defeated by Arsenal as they revert to a back four: Gusto for James, Chalobah for Badiashile, Palmer for Fofana and Jackson for Nkunku.
06:34 PM BST
Line-ups imminent
They have to be confirmed an hour before kick-off but have usually been posted 75 minutes before kick-off this season. Real Madrid, in what I’m sure is a powerplay, tend to publish theirs about three hours before kick-off.
05:27 PM BST
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05:26 PM BST
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05:23 PM BST
Preview: Fifty years of needle
Good evening and welcome to live coverage of the London derby between Chelsea and Tottenham from Stamford Bridge, a fixture that has turned toxic in the past 50 years ever since the two met at White Hart Lane on April 19 1975 Spurs were 20th (third from bottom in the 22-team First Division) and Chelsea a point ahead in 19th and the violence that became prevalent over the next few years made its first major impact on the fixture that spring afternoon. The kick-off was delayed by a pitch invasion by more than a thousand fans and mounted police took so long to assert control that the Tottenham goalkeeper, Pat Jennings, took a painful kick across the shins from a Chelsea supporter when the referee brought the players on to the field in an attempt to get the match started.
In the second half Steve Perryman and Alfie Conn scored for Spurs and the two points for victory earned Tottenham a one -point advantage with two games to play in the relegation battle. Taunting continued and fighting resumed at the end of the match, around the stadium and in the fertile ambush country of the long march back to Seven Sisters station.Chelsea drew their last two matches of the season, Spurs lost the first, the North London Derby at Highbury, but inspired by the return of Martin Chivers they defeated European Cup finalists Leeds 4-2 48 hours later at White Hart Lane to ignite a markedly more jubilant pitch invasion. Chelsea were relegated on 33 points, Tottenham stayed up on 34. And ever since...
It is also a derby in which Chelsea have had all but a stranglehold in the past 35 years, Spurs winning only once at Stamford Bridge, in 2018, in all that time. Both sides seem to be lumbered with managers that don’t seem the right fit for their clubs, Enzo Maresca too diffident and Ange Postecoglou increasingly touchy and petulant, that’s to say nothing for their tactical rigidity in the face of appalling runs and the sense that they’re rather too pleased with themselves.
Having started well, since Christmas Chelsea have lost six, won four and drawn two, a slump that has taken them from second down to sixth though a win tonight will push them back up to fourth. Spurs, who started badly and have continued in that vein, have lost seven, won three and drawn two since Christmas which has left them in 14th, safe from relegation but that will not be enough to bulwark the Australian’s job security should he not win the Europa League.
Both will cite injuries to crucial players but tonight they have as many fit options as they have had in months. Only Omari Kellyman and Mykhailo Mudryk, for vastly different reasons, are out of contention for Marseca while Postecoglou is missing Dejan Kukusevski, Kevin Danso, Radu Dragusin and Richarlison. While Kulusevski’s absence will hurt, the return of his first choice centre-halves will be a boon for the mordant Melburnian.
