COLE Palmer and Chelsea are back on track.
Ange Postecoglou and Spurs remain off the rails, on the road to nowhere. Or the sack.
Enzo Fernandez arrived perfectly to thud the 50th minute breakthrough[/caption]
Fernandez celebrates his crucial breakthrough[/caption]
The Aussie cupped his ears at his own fans when substitute Pape Mata Sarr seemed to have grabbed an equaliser his team did not deserve.
Moments earlier the travelling supporters had told him “You don’t know what you’re doing” when he had brought on Sarr for their beloved Lucas Bergvall in a double change with 25 minutes to go.
But Postecoglou was hung out to dry when a VAR intervention led to the goal being ruled out for Sarr’s foul on Moises Caicedo.
On another night, the main story would have been fit-again Palmer providing only his second goal contribution of 2025 – and his first in 10 games – by laying the only goal on a plate for Enzo Fernandez.
It puts Chelsea on the front foot again after rivals for a Champions League place won earlier in the midweek round of games.
But their victory was hardly unexpected. Nor was another dismal night for Spurs and Postecoglou.
He is the first Tottenham manager to lose his first four league games against their London rivals.
Whether he gets a fifth chance surely depends on his team winning the Europa League and taking the alternative route into the Champions League.
Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven had a heartstopping moment when the ball ricocheted off him onto his own post in the first minute[/caption]
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Because Spurs, with most of their first-choice players available again, barely laid a glove on the Blues.
Postecoglou admitted in a pre-match interview that he felt the majority of Tottenham fans had lost faith in what he and his team were trying to do.
Even before the mocking chant and his reaction to it, you could see why.
Chelsea were superior in every department.
It was not as feisty as the 2016 Battle of the Bridge. Nor as bonkers as Chelsea’s 4-3 and 4-1 victories in their last two visits to White Hart Lane. But from start to finish, it was action-packed, with each side having a goal ruled out by VAR, and yellow cards and passion a-plenty.
Micky Van de Ven and Cristian Romero were playing together at centre half for Spurs for the first time since both going off injured in the seven-goal thriller against the Blues nearly four months before.
Inside 50 seconds they were embarrassingly undone by Trevoh Chalobah’s long ball over the top.
Nicolas Jackson, back after two months out with a hamstring injury, got there first, and his accidental prod was blocked by Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario. When Van De Ven tried to clear, the ball ricocheted off Jackson on to a post and from there to safety.
The visitors immediately showed their teeth with a lightning break that required Marc Cucurella to block Son Heung-Min’s shot.
Then Chelsea Malo Gusto strummed the side-netting with a shot that some in the home crowd thought was a goal.
So far, so crazy.
Malo Gusto was gutted after a Chelsea miss[/caption]
For about 10 minutes things calmed down, before Destiny Udogie’s challenge stopped Fernandez converting Palmer’s cross from close range.
The chances had dried up, but the passion was still there. Caicedo roared at Van De Ven in triumph after halting the Dutchman when he sprinted away from a robust challenge on Palmer.
Jadon Sancho was frustrating the home crowd and boss Maresca by not obeying his pre-match instruction to shoot more.
Out of nothing, Son drew a save from Robert Sanchez. Finally, Sancho had a go but Vicario made a fine stop.
The only thing the teams had forgotten to do before first-half stoppage time – apart from score – was to have a fight.
Enter Romero, who bundled over Levi Colwill and found himself confronted by a furious Chalobah in what became a rolling maul involving a number of players. Both were booked.
It was knockabout stuff, yet goalless.
But not for long.
Palmer had already stung the hands of Vicario before sending in a beautiful cross that exposed the Spurs defence utterly.
While they all looked at each other, Fernandez arrived unmarked to power a header into the net.
The Argentinian’s fellow £100m midfielder, Caicedo, thought he had made it two not long afterwards.
But his lovely volley after Spurs failed to clear a free kick was ruled out for offside against Colwill after a four-minute VAR check.
Which didn’t stop the visiting fans repeating their earlier chorus of “We want Levy out”.
Chelsea kept coming, Palmer calling Vicario into action again.
Postecoglou thought he had turned the tide when Sanchez failed to stop Sarr’s long-distance shot.
But amid Chelsea protests VAR Jarred Gillett called referee Craig Pawson to the monitor and he disallowed the goal for a foul by Sarr on Caicedo, booking the Tottenham man for good measure.
There were chances at both ends before the end. In the 89th minute, Brennan Johnson crossed but Son’s shot at the back post was not firm enough to beat Sanchez.
Tottenham still had hope when 12 minutes of additional time were announced.
But defeat means the clock ticks ever louder on Postecoglou’s reign.
