Tottenham Hotspur registered just a second win in 37 league visits to Stamford Bridge as they sensationally beat Chelsea 2-0 in the Premier League.
These two sides came into the game having won last time out – while that has been a somewhat regular occurrence for Chelsea this term, Tottenham’s triumph over Coventry was their first of the campaign.
Under torrential downpour in London, the first half was a tentative affair, with Spurs circulating the ball for the majority while Chelsea looked to pounce on any lapses in possession.
The Blues, who were without top scorer Joao Pedro, had the first chance of the game when Cole Palmer’s curled effort towards the top corner was tipped behind by Antonin Kinsky, before Mohamed Kudus fired wide from a similar angle at the other end.
Spurs looked increasingly comfortable on the ball as the half progressed, and had arguably the first period’s best chance when Omar Marmoush fired straight at Mike Penders between the Chelsea sticks.
The hosts, though, started to threaten as half-time approached, with Kinsky parrying a Jordan Henderson effort from just inside the area before gathering Pedro Neto’s low drive.
The second half followed much the same pattern, with Tottenham dominating the ball without doing much with it. The game’s next shot on target only arrived just after the hour mark, when Neto fired straight at Kinsky from a very dangerous position.
The conditions hadn’t helped affairs, best illustrated when Micky van de Ven, Mateus Fernandes and Palmer received yellow cards following two successive incidents.
Ultimately, it was a calamity from Chelsea’s back-up goalkeeper Penders that gave those in attendance the first goal.
The Belgian was almost unchallenged when a corner came his way, but his punch somehow went behind him and into his own net.
Things then went from bad to worse for Xabi Alonso’s side as Palmer received a second booking for a late foul on Conor Gallagher.
With three minutes remaining, Tottenham made the most of their man advantage when Mathys Tel drove forward into the Chelsea half, skipped past Maxence Lacroix and fired a low drive into the bottom corner beyond Penders’ desperate grasp.
This was Tottenham’s first away win of the campaign, and sees them move up to 12th in the table. Meanwhile, Chelsea’s six-game unbeaten run in front of their own supporters comes to an end, and they must dust themselves off as they face Liverpool and Manchester United next.
