Chelsea were handed their first Premier League defeat of the season as they were beaten 3-1 by Tottenham at Wembley in Saturday’s late kick-off.
Two early goals from Dele Alli and Harry Kane followed by a great Heung-min Son solo effort put the game out of sight for the Blues before Olivier Giroud’s late consolation.
Early Goals Stun the Visitors
Maurizio Sarri opted to start with Alvaro Morata in the striker position instead of Giroud who had scored for France on international duty. But it wasn’t the attack they had to worry about, it was the defence as they found themselves a goal down inside 10 minutes. David Luiz made a sloppy foul on the right-hand side which allowed Christian Eriksen to whip a delicious ball towards the front post. Alli was on-hand to glance it beyond Kepa and into the net.
There were more warning signs straight after as Son passed up two excellent chances to double his side’s lead. The visitors didn’t react to those efforts and were in big trouble moments later. After Eden Hazard had a clear penalty shout somehow turned down, Kane picked the ball up 35 yards from goal and drove into the space in front of him. He let fly from a long way out and it found the bottom corner after Kepa surprisingly remained rooted to the spot.
Chelsea were finding it hard to get into their sharp passing playing style but chances for Willian and Hazard could have seen them back into the match. Both failed to properly test Hugo Lloris which meant Spurs went into half time deservedly two goals to the good. The hosts had been very lucky not to have conceded a penalty when Juan Foyth went through the back of Hazard in the box just after Alli’s opener.
Son Solo Sinks Chelsea
Sarri clearly got into his troops during the break as they flew out of the blocks in the second half. Marcos Alonso found Willian inside the box courtesy of a few deflections and the Brazilian almost pulled a goal back but for a vital block. Although, just as they grew into the game, Chelsea were sucker punched.
Alli bent a lovely curled pass down the right wing towards Son who breezed past Jorginho before evading Luiz and rolling the ball into the far corner with great composure. That almost definitely secured the points for the home side who had executed a fantastic gameplan from minute one.
Tottenham continued to dominate despite already being three goals up and could have added to their already healthy lead. Kane missed a guilt-edge chance to net a second, sending his strike helplessly over the top after being played in eight yards out by Moussa Sissoko. Alli could have also netted a brace minutes afterwards but his effort from the edge of the box narrowly avoided the top corner.
The game went relatively stagnant from there but with five minutes of normal time remaining, Chelsea got on the scoreboard through Giroud. Cesar Azpilicueta curled a wonderful cross towards the back post where the former Arsenal striker was waiting to head into the ground and past his international team-mate, Lloris.
However, with such little time on the clock, the Blues weren’t able to get back into the match and had to settle for a 3-1 loss in a game where they could have lost by a lot more.
It’s a return to European football for Sarri’s men this week as they welcome PAOK to Stamford Bridge on Thursday evening.
