Chelsea moved up to fourth in the Premier League, level on points with Tottenham Hotspur, after the Blues claimed London derby bragging rights with a 1-0 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Joao Pedro grabbed the only goal of the game mid-way through the first-half following some questionable Spurs defending and saw out the remainder of the game to take all three points.
Enzo Maresca’s side limited their hosts to very few chances, while Thomas Frank’s men looked defensively frail on several occasions in front of their home fans.
A point would have been enough to see Frank’s team leapfrog Bournemouth into second but, despite defeat, they remain in third.
Tottenham v Chelsea as it happened
History was certainly not on Spurs’ side, having won just eight Premier League matches against Chelsea in 66 meetings. The Blues had won the last four.
And the early signs in this contest were foreboding for the hosts. Just five minutes had elapsed when Frank was forced into a change after Lucas Bergvall suffered a suspected concussion.
Things looked even more ominous when, just after the half-hour mark, Frank’s side played themselves into trouble near their own box, allowing Joao Pedro a sight of goal, but Vicario reacted quickly to save well with his legs.
The Brazilian would get the better of the Spurs keeper just moments later, however. Moises Caicedo won the ball back high up the pitch off Micky Van de Ven, before charging into the box and rolling the ball across the six-yard box into the path of Joao Pedro who swept home.
The Chelsea striker again went close two minutes before the break, Vicario palming his fierce goal-bound effort over the bar.
At the other end, Robert Sanchez needed to be on hand to push away Mohammed Kudus’ curling effort as the first 45 ended in frantic fashion.
Tottenham looked more assured after the break but they still had moments of uncertainty at the back.
Neto had a fierce shot batted away by Vicario before Reece James sprayed a long-distance effort over the bar.
As the clock ticked over into stoppage time, substitute Jamie Gittens and Joao Pedro both wasted glorious chances to put a sheen on the result.
In the end, it mattered little. The Blues emerged victorious to move up the table and extend their impressive record against their city rivals.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: 101greatgoals.com
