Tottenham face Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday, Aug. 20. Here are all the highlights from the match.
After winning the Premier League last season, Chelsea didn’t get off to a great start with their 2017-18 campaign. With a straight red card for Gary Cahill early and then a second yellow for Cesc Fabregas, they fell to Burnley, 3-2. Now they are on the road for their second fixture with a tough matchup ahead as they will take on Tottenham in Wembley Stadium.
Clearly motivated to take control of their own narrative in the first half, Chelsea were the more quality side right out of the gate. Tottenham were sure to press when they had the ball, but they never really created anything of substance early on. The visiting side, however, looked to be getting into the box with nice looks, including a header from Alvaro Morata that sailed just wide of the post.
In the 24th minute, Chelsea were rewarded for their play. They earned a free kick from the top of the box, roughly 25 yards out. Marcos Alonso ran up and delivered a masterful hit off his left fit. It was beautifully placed and curved into the top corner to put the defending Premier League champs up 1-0.
Rather than getting complacent, however, this seemed to ignite the Spurs attack further. They continued to press and found some good looks on goal. The closest came after Harry Kane broke free inside the box and ripped one to the far post, unfortunately going off said post and keeping Tottenham behind. That 1-0 scoreline was where things stood going into the half.
Coming out of the half, that mentality persisted for Spurs. What’s more, it also seemed to frustrate the Chelsea defense to some degree. Without Cahill in the lineup, it seemed as if they lost some of their composure. Even still, they were bending not breaking for most of the next 35 minutes of play. But it was a mistake by new signing Tiémoué Bakayoko that changed things.
Defending on the left outside of the box, he took down Dele Alli with a dump tackle that conceded a free kick. With Christian Eriksen set to take it, Tottenham fans expected goodness. He curled a beautiful ball into the middle of the penalty area, but it was Michy Batshuayi that got a head on it. Lucky for Spurs, the angle was near impossible to deal with and the attempted clearance went into the back of the net to draw things level.
However, Spurs ultimately couldn’t hold on. Despite having a quality chance on another free kick soon after, they couldn’t convert. Soon after, Chelsea came screaming back trying to muscle their way to three points. In doing so, Alonso struck again with another beauty, this time in free play, and pulled the defending champs ahead 2-1.
Tottenham tried to make something of it, but to no avail. Ultimately, it was Chelsea’s game from the jump. They let down in the middle, but came through when it mattered to get the result they wanted.
Highlights
Next: 25 best club soccer teams of all time
Chelsea needed that victory and fought hard to get it. It’s still early in the season, but that was a tone-setting matchup for them against a quality side like Tottenham. As such, getting a win on the road at Wembley and the three points are a huge success — especially after last week.