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15 hours ago
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The days when Tottenham were capable of ending this fixture with nine men trying to pull off a high line against Nicolas Jackson are over, but on current evidence the decision to replace the excesses of Angeball with something more restrained and grown-up has merely invited soul-searching of a different nature.
The loud, sustained blast of booing that broke out when the final whistle arrived at the end of this sorry defeat to Chelsea said much about the identity crisis gripping the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. There are ways to lose a derby but Spurs chose one of the worst routes. They created almost nothing of note during an unremarkable game, so much so that they finished with an xG of 0.05, and it must have been worrying for Thomas Frank to hear unrest flare on more than one occasion in the stands.
There has been tentative progress under Frank, although most of it has come on the road. Spurs have taken 13 points from their past 19 home games, a record which represents the worst of any club to have been in the Premier League during that period, and mustered only one shot on target as they fell to their fifth consecutive defeat to Chelsea.
One goal was enough for Chelsea to climb into fourth place and go level on points with Spurs. João Pedro ended his barren run and Moisés Caicedo was superb in midfield. Chelsea, though, did not have to be anything more than clinical and efficient to win.
It was worth recalling that Spurs took the lead in this fixture in each of the past two seasons, only to lose because they were too gung-ho on both occasions. Frank, though, is more of a chameleon than Ange Postecoglou. The Dane is prepared to adapt his tactics and he met the threat posed by Chelsea by looking to compress space, with João Palhinha sticking to Enzo Fernández and Spurs’ box midfield full of runners but perhaps a little light on ideas with the ball.
The worry for Spurs had to be a lack of invention. Certainly there was little going on during the early stages. Spurs lacked natural width on the left and were forced to tweak their plan when a concussed Lucas Bergvall made way for Xavi Simons in the seventh minute.
There was not much to unsettle Chelsea. The question was whether they had the wit to unlock a deep Spurs defence. Breaking down low blocks has made an issue for Enzo Maresca, who made two changes after last week’s defeat to Sunderland. He had Reece James alongside Caicedo in midfield, ensuring that Chelsea were never going to be overwhelmed physically, but creating clear openings was difficult. Alejandro Garnacho testing Guglielmo Vicario from 20 yards was about as good as it got during the first 25 minutes.
Spurs were painfully limited in attack. Randal Kolo Muani was swallowed up by Trevoh Chalobah and Wesley Fofana. Simons, targeted by Chelsea last summer, looked frail against Malo Gusto.
Chelsea’s moves were slicker, particularly with Garnacho repeatedly creating overloads on the left. One of the biggest positives for Maresca was seeing confidence flow back into João Pedro’s game after scoring the winner in the 34th minute. The Brazilian has looked tired in recent weeks and is not training at full speed but he led the line here with a combination of robust hold-up play and slippery movement in place of Marc Guiu and the suspended Liam Delap. Spurs, by contrast, had none of that punch.
They should have trailed when an error playing out from the back led to João Pedro going through and shooting at Vicario’s legs. The warning went unheeded, though. Spurs were soon overplaying again, inviting Caicedo to press. The midfielder won possession once, then muscled on to a soft pass from Simons and dominated a 50-50 with Micky van de Ven before finding João Pedro, who lifted the ball past Vicario for his first goal since August.
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Spurs flickered, Mohammed Kudus drawing a plunging save from Robert Sánchez, but they should have been out of it by half-time. Vicario repelled a piledriver from João Pedro and there was fury from Chelsea when a caution for Rodrigo Bentancur’s ugly lunge on Reece James was deemed sufficient.
Chelsea remained superior, Fernández heading narrowly over at the start of the second half. Caicedo took an iron grip in midfield. João Pedro barged Kevin Danso off the ball and made a shooting opportunity for Pedro Neto. Garnacho, released by Caicedo, almost set up Neto for a tap-in.
It was time for Spurs to make their move. Cristian Romero replaced Danso in central defence and Richarlison went up front after coming on for Bentancur. Kolo Muani shifted to the left, allowing Simons to have a go as a No 10.
The experiment lasted another 13 minutes, ending when Brennan Johnson replaced the dismal Simons, who could have no complaints about being a substituted substitute. Spurs still huffed and puffed. Chelsea will not have many easier wins this season.
