Chelsea won 2-0 over Tottenham Hotspur in the London derby in the 23rd week of the Premier League at Stamford Bridge, Sunday (23/1).
This victory brought Chelsea to keep the distance with Liverpool who occupy second place with a difference of only one point. Meanwhile, Tottenham are stuck in seventh position in the standings with 36 points.
The hosts dominated the game. At the beginning of the first half, the Blues immediately endangered the Spurs goal through Callum Hudson-Odoi’s experiment when the game had only been running for four minutes. Hakim Ziyech and Thiago Silva created the next opportunity in the first 10 minutes of the match.
Thomas Tuchel’s 4-1-4-1 formation made the Blues free to exploit the Spurs defense area. From the side of the field, Ziyech and Hudson-Odoi repeatedly made it difficult for The Lilywhites defenders to stop attacks.
Meanwhile in the Spurs camp, the 4-4-2 formation was chosen by Antonio Conte, who returned to Stamford Bridge for the first time in the English Premier League. Several more opportunities were presented from the feet of Harry Winks instead of Harry Kane and Steven Bergwijn who stood as an attacking duo.
Chelsea became the team that created the first opportunity in this match. The hosts created chances through Hakim Ziyech who had yet to score a goal.
Tottenham tried to avenge the pressure from Chelsea in the 14th minute. Harry Winks fired speculation from outside the penalty box which could still be secured by Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The match then went tough. Chelsea and Tottenham did not create many chances until the middle of the first half.
Towards the end of the first half, Tottenham were actually able to break into Chelsea’s goal through Harry Kane. However, the goal was disallowed because it was considered a violation before Kane scored. The score 0-0 became the end of the first half.
Chelsea scored the opener through Hakim Ziyech’s beautiful goal in the 47th minute. The Moroccan player took off a curling kick from outside the penalty box which nestled into the right corner of Hugo Lloris’ goal.
The Blues only needed eight minutes to increase the advantage. This time the host’s goal was created through central defender Thiago Silva.
The goal came from a set-piece shot by Mason Mount. The 23-year-old gave a pass into the penalty box which was met by Silva’s header without being able to be dammed by Lloris.
Tottenham who trailed 0-2 are still struggling to develop the game. The Lilywhites’ goal was even threatened again through Romelu Lukaku’s hard shot which Lloris could still thwart.
The pressure given by Chelsea made Tottenham unable to do much in the second half. The score 2-0 for Chelsea’s victory over Tottenham did not change until the referee blew the whistle marking the end of the second half.
