Chelsea 2 Tottenham 1 WATCH HIGHLIGHTS: Victor Moses strike sends Blues top after tense London derby
Mauricio Pochettino's Spurs lose unbeaten record days after crashing out of the Champions League
Sponsored by
CHELSEA looked like chumps for 45 minutes. By full-time they looked like champs.
It is the mark of potential Premier League winners that they could get played off the park for a half and STILL end up winning.
Tottenham had the whiff of a first win at Stamford Bridge for almost 27 years.
Fans were ready to party like it was 1990 when Christian Eriksen smashed into the top corner early on.
They were branded The Unconvincibles for playing poorly and staying unbeaten but this was Spurs best spell since beating Manchester City at the start of October – and there looked like no danger of a first league defeat of the season.
Then came the sucker punch on the stroke of half-time from Pedro and the miracle completed by Moses.
Within six minutes Spurs had gone from total control to staring at another defeat at Chelsea thanks to Victor Moses’ goal.
It was nothing like the thumpings Chelsea dished out against Leicester, Manchester United and Everton here when they scored 12 without reply.
But winning in this fashion – and returning to the top of the table - is every bit as impressive.
It was billed as Grudgement Day after last season’s brutal battle.
By the final whistle, the two teams looked a world away from that end-of-season clash in May.
Spurs were chasing the title on that night of bitterness - when Mousa Dembele scratched Diego Costa– but a top-four place now appears to be a battle.
Chelsea are completely different too. Antonio Conte’s three-man defence, unchanged for a sixth game, came through their toughest test since he changed system.
That meant no Cesc Fabregas, who was accused of slapping Spurs players in the nuts in the last encounter. And Danny Rose, who went nuts himself during that game, missed out through suspension so Kevin Wimmer stepped in at left-back.
Jan Vertonghen was a more natural fit but the thinking was to make sure the Belgian could keep Costa quiet. And it worked a treat for 45 minutes.
They offered a warning early on when Harry Kane had the ball in the net, latching into Eriksen’s free-kick before getting pulled back for offside.
But Spurs fans were not made to wait long before they were celebrating – and dreaming of finally winning at Stamford Bridge.
Dele Alli made the goal with a typical lung-busting run forward, drawing David Luiz into a tackle before slipping the ball past the big-haired Brazilian.
There didn’t look like much danger to Chelsea’s goal from 25 yards out but Eriksen tried his luck. And the Dane’s half-volley was a beauty, arrowing into the top corner and giving Thibaut Courtois no chance.
Mauricio Pochettino punched the air in delight after his side’s stunning start.
Conte, though, was kicking every ball in the technical area and appealing every offside, waving his arms manically after conceding a first goal after 601 minutes of Premier League football.
Instead of allowing Conte’s lads to play, Spurs pushed right up and gave them no time. Even in the full-back areas, Spurs were all over them like a rash.
It was Courtois doing the hard work. The Belgian tipped around the post when Kyle Walker raided into the penalty area, then tipped over from Kane.
They were made to rue the miss as Pedro curled in a stunner of his own before the break.
The Spaniard looked odds-on to lay the ball out wide when he picked up the ball on the edge of the area. But he produced a Cruyff-turn instead before taking aim and finding the top corner.
He celebrated by kissing his hand and touching his right boot – it was an absolute peach from the Chelsea winger.
It was also against the run of play and Spurs players looked totally deflated going into the break.
Related Stories
After such a devastating blow, Cheslea were inevitably on top after the break.
Costa created the winner with a surging run that saw him breeze past his old nemesis Dembele.
His cross found Moses at the far post with time to unleash his finish, which flew in off Vertonghen on the line.
Kane teed up Eriksen for a chance that Courtois did well to save, but the stuffing had been knocked out of Spurs already.
It was not as devastating as losing the title like they did last May but it was another deflating experience, especially with Conte whipping up the crowd like he loves to do.
It could have been a bigger win when Costa teed up Marcos Costa but the wing-back blazed over the bar.
BIG PICTURE
Next five matches
Chelsea
December 3 Manchester City (a)
December 11 West Brom (h)
December 14 Sunderland (a)
December 17 Crystal Palace (a)
December 26 Bournemouth (h)
Tottenham
December 3 Swansea (h)
December 11 Manchester United (a)
December 14 Hull (h)
December 18 Burnley (h)
December 28 Southampton (a)
WHAT THEY SAID
Chelsea forward Pedro: "It was a very difficult game for us but we are happy for the win. This is the way, game by game. There's good feelings. I scored and it's good. The team has a good mentality and stability. We are high on confidence."
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino: "If we analyse the game we were better. We competed very well and we were a bit unlucky to concede.
"The second half we conceded a goal very early. We are disappointed but we need to be pleased for the performance and the way we competed against a very good team."
SOCIAL SAYS