Report, reaction and analysis
That’s a wrap on a game that will be recalled for years to come, with quotes and sidebar to follow from our reporters soon enough. Meanwhile, thanks for reading.
Mauricio Pochettino spoke to Sky Sports: ““That is the football we want. I really like the way we played today. We were competitive. It was an amazing game. It was difficult for us to control the game, too many mistakes in possession. The defensive line was so high and we didn’t have the patience to find the right ball. When the team is not full of confidence that can happen.”
On Nicolas Jackson: “It will build his confidence. When strikers are young and you arrive at a club like Chelsea the demands are massive. There was massive pressure on him but I hope this hat-trick allows him to play more relaxed and be more confident.”
From Chelsea, Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer both spoke to Sky Sports.
Jackson: “Very happy. It was a difficult time for everyone in the team but now we are coming back slowly and I’m happy to score three goals. It’s been difficult. It is for everybody. We were dreaming about this, winning big games. We will continue working hard and the confidence is coming slowly.”
Palmer: “It’s been a difficult start for him, no hiding it, but he was brilliant tonight. He just needs to keep his head down and work harder in training and he will get more hat-tricks. It’s easier playing against nine men but we knew we had to win the game when it went down to 10 and when it went down to nine especially we knew we needed to score, keep pressing and making the runs in behind because the line was so high.”
Big Ange explained the below to Sky: “It is just who we are mate, it is who we are and who we will be for as long as I am here. If we go down to five men we will have a go.”
📸 - Ange Postecoglou has instructed Spurs to keep their high line when possible, despite playing with 9 men. pic.twitter.com/3YBAudmKA3
— 𝐀𝐅𝐂 𝐀𝐉𝐀𝐗 💎 (@TheEuropeanLad) November 6, 2023
Ange Postecoglou has been speaking to Sky Sports: “It is pretty hard to process. It is almost impossible to analyse the game because it just seemed to get out of control for large parts of it. Disappointed by the result but really proud of the players, they gave everything and that is the positive we will take. We were very close to getting an equaliser a couple of times and it shows their spirit. It was just a bridge too far today.
”You have to accept the referee’s decision, that is how I grew up. This constant erosion of the referee’s authority is where the game is going to get - they are not going to have any authority. We are going to be under the control of someone with a tv screen a few miles away. The decision is the decision. In 26 years I have had plenty of bad decisions, I have had plenty fall in my favour. It is what it is.”
Here’s David Hytner’s match report from the Tottenham Stadium.
A Bobson Dognutt gets in touch: “It took Spurs a 96’ OG from Matip & that VAR/Diaz situation to see off 9-man Liverpool, with the added bonus of home crowd. Spurs & Chelsea more similar than they’d like to admit?
Rick Harris gets in touch: “Alexandra Ashton is being a tad pessimistic or Spurssimistic perhaps. Looking at the two benches there is vastly more experience and quality on Tottenham’s than on Chelsea’s. Of course the loss of players who have been performing well is a big blow, but the manager is renowned for getting an extra commitment from his players so I would suggest that all is not yet lost and the Spurs title is still very much on.”
Peter Mumola has a question for the Knowledge: “As an Arsenal supporter, I was never likely to watch this match, but after reading the first half summary felt compelled like some bizarre car crash gawker. Others will dwell on the number of physical incidents, but the astonishing amount of offsides has drawn my attention. Is this even close to a Premier League record? Seems every 90 seconds the flag is up.”
That was such an odd game that Spurs fans are surfing a wave of optimism and Chelsea, despite that win and a hat-trick for their new striker, are worried how difficult their team made it. Jimmy Greaves had it right.
Full-time: Tottenham 1-4 Chelsea
That was a derby classic, and the two managers exchange kind words that do not reflect a contest that was bad tempered and set alight by the ill-discipline of Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie and given VAR a real test, too. Spurs were doing so well at the start and played so well with nine men, too. They leave the field to a standing ovation, having lost 4-1. What a night.
Goal! Tottenham 1-4 Chelsea (Jackson, (90+7)
That’s cruel but it’s a hat-trick. The offside trap is sprung again and even though he has Mudryk for company the Senegalese striker won’t be passing that. Vicario falls and he rounds the keeper and slots.
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90+5 min: Spurs fans sing defiantly but the day is done, even amid such pride in defeat. There is team spirit in evidence, though it was a lack of discipline that cost them. Chelsea have had to work so hard for this.
Goal! Tottenham 1-3 Chelsea (Jackson, 90+4)
Suddenly, Spurs are the more likely. Son weaves and bobs. Can he get enough on his shot? Sanchez is made to make a save…but Tottenham have no numbers, and at the other end, Mudryk spins off the offside trap and sets up Jackson for an almost identical second goal.
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90+3 min: Spurs pushing on. Chelsea actually look a bit tired but Porro buys them time in fouling Cucurella.
90+2 min: Palmer commits and injudicious foul. This time, Chelsea get the free-kick clear but not with much confidence.
90 min: Chelsea change, as nine more minutes are announced. Off goes Sterling, the coolest man in the stadium in setting up Jackson for that second goal. Ugochukwu comes on.
89 min: Long ball aimed for Mudryk who leaves something on Vicario but not too much. The Ukrainian is booked. Though Vicario stays down in pain.
87 min: Gusto does better this time in playing his part in forcing a corner Chelsea take short. They try to retain possession but then lose it. Bentancur tries to dig it out but has nobody to aim his pass at. No out-ball and tired legs.
86 min: Malo Gusto has the bad taste to make a silly foul on Emerson and so the ball is launched into the mixer. Son delivers and Bentancur stoops and heads the ball down and out before colliding with post. Such drama, it goes on and on.
85 min: Big Ange hasn’t lost a home game for 52 matches and now needs a miracle to be performed by nine men, five of whom he didn’t select to start.
83 min: There’s something of a calm descended. Chelsea are passing the ball around. The pressure’s been released.
81 min: Has this been a game where VAR has added to the spectacle? It feels like it’s added another layer of intrigue to a game that’s been thrilling in any case, something akin to a delayed unmasking of the murderer. Howard Webb, you old card, you.
80 min: Robin Griller gets in touch: “Spurs’ “title” challenge, which couldn’t last due to lack of squad depth, is over not because they lose today, but because we have three centre halves, one of whom isn’t pacy enough to play in this style, while the other two are gone for three and who knows how many games.”
Eric Dier has a Tottenham equaliser chalked off!
The cross comes in from a free-kick, and Dier volleys home. Was he offside from Bentancur’s flick? VAR takes its time again…the lines are drawn…is Gusto playing him on. It is so so close. That’s the fifth disallowed goal of the night.
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77 min: Reece James, the skipper, perhaps lucky to get this far after his forearm smash though playing a part in the goal, is replaced by Malo Gusto.
Goal! Tottenham 1-2 Chelsea (Jackson, 75)
Sterling’s intelligence is the key, in spinning off Reece James’ pass, and then Jackson’s run is intelligent, and he cannot miss from there. Vicario was left wholly unprotected by the high line. That’s a big goal for the striker…there’s a VAR check for luck but that will stand. They took rather too long over that.
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72 min: Tom Stock gets in touch, and perhaps needs to get into the spirit of things: “It’s a bit weird to say that Spurs’ championship challenge is over if they lose this game - by that theory no one is going to have a title challenge. Of course you need to make a story but this is an over the top line to take.”
As I said before, the person who is enjoying this most is Pep Guardiola.
71 min: Jeers as Gallagher clanks the ball out of play. Pochettino looks like he’s about to lose the plot himself.
70 min: Vicario goes down, at an opportune time. Drinks are taken on, and Pochettino has his arms round Gallagher and Mudryk. Vicario, after a check, can carry on, and to nobody’s surprise. Time wasted, thoughts gathered, it’s Chelsea who have to worry.
68 min: Cucurella suddenly has the freedom of the Tottenham half but Vicario has him in his sights, and as the Spaniard bears down, and cuts inside, the Italian smothers him and Skipp cuts across to clear to huge cheers. The goalkeeper has been brilliant.
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68 min: Tottenham pushing up and playing offside, with Poch furious that Disasi and Mudryk fall for the trap. One day, perhaps this day, it’s all going to come off for Mudryk.
66 min: Hojberg smashes behind from a James cross. Chelsea take the corner short and keep working the ball. Mudryk clatters one into the stands. This is such a test for that forward line.
64 min: Chelsea need to clear their heads here. Vicario, who has been outstanding, plays what we used to know as “rush goalie” in running out and smashing the ball into the sky.
63 min: Richard Hirst: “Spurs down to six of their starting XI after about 55 minutes - pretty good going.” It’s now four.
62 min: Harold Harold gets in touch: “If it was anyone else than Chelsea, I’d be confident that a team facing nine men would win comfortably from this position. But Chelsea’s finishing, with the occasional exception of Cole Palmer, is just *dreadful*... They seem determined to be offside as often as possible and to be wasteful when actually onside.”
Yes, so much pressure on Chelsea now. The Tottenham Stadium is ringing with defiance, too.
61 min: Two more Spurs subs: Bentancur and Skipp on for Kulusevski and Sarr. Ange is going defensive…
59 min: Is facing nine men harder than facing ten? Chelsea are going to find out in the next 30 minutes. Vicario steps out to become an extra outfield player and soon enough has to watch a James shot fly wide.
58 min: Another Jackson chance, another Vicario save, and then Murdryk forces yet another one. An offside call quells the danger for now.
57 min: Chelsea sub: Mudryk replaces Fernandez. Poch has a plan.
56 min: Now Jackson misses a sitter. The ball landing on his head, only requiring the easiest of touches, and yet…Hojberg celebrates like a rugby union forward when the opposition’s scrum gives up a penalty.
Red card for Udogie! Spurs down to nine men!
All that spirit is surely crushed when Chelsea break three on two and then Udogie, having made an interception, lunges in, and that’s a clear second yellow.
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53 min: Spurs chasing hard, pressing pressing pressing. Perhaps this is the way to play with 10. The crowd are loving it. Tottenham’s risk-taking values at their finest. Danny Blanchflower would approve…Vicario though is forced to make a save from a Sterling shot. The Italian palms clear. Then Bissouma shoots on goal…and now Chelsea break…
51 min: Son is isolated as Porro hoiks the ball long. Disasi has read the run well. This is still a real test for that Chelsea defence. Thiago Silva has remained notably cool.
49 min: There’s mistakes in Chelsea, too. Disasi almost lets Sarr rob him and play in Son, and then the ball whips straight down the other end as Gallagher launches an attack. Spurs playing on the counter but still wishing to commit players forward. They beat Luton with 10 men just last month so that will hold few fears.
48 min: Alexandra Ashton also gets in touch: “For the first 15 minutes I started to believe we could have a title tilt, playing Chelsea off the park. So much for that: Romero suspended for 3 matches is a massive miss, and VdV for possibly months is even worse. If Maddison came off due to injury as well that’s 3 of our most crucial players gone, and a squad in tatters.”
47 min: Cole Palmer, who took it to Tottenham from the start, wallops a shot wide. He’s become an important Chelsea player very quickly.
46 min: Spurs have decided to keep a high line…and Jackson almost escapes through it.
Martin Jachnik gets in touch: “How is Reece James still on the pitch as well? It’s wrestling, a forearm smash to the head. No I don’t want to see that. Football please.”
Half-time sub, and it’s a sensible one: Levi Colwill’s hot head is cooled down as Marc Cucurella’s curls replace him. We go again…
There’s been billions of emails, so thank you.
Kári Tulinius sums it up:
“What on Earth happened? Tottenham are really hopped up, the football team equivalent of Spud’s job interview in Trainspotting. How they went in at halftime still level baffles me.
Ian Sargeant: “Enjoying Heung Min Son’s Mikel Arteta impression.”
Rob Smith: “Pass the lasagna.”
Rob Knap: “I hope you’re getting time and a half tonight. It feels like the game began about two weeks ago. You’re so right about Spurs’ season seemingly coming undone in a matter of minutes, like a clown’s car quickly falling apart. I don’t think I’ve seen a team so visibly lose it so quickly, though Romero is always a candidate for a red (or two).”
Half-time: Tottenham 1-1 Chelsea
As a belated sequel to the Battle of the Bridge it’s been superb. Scenes we don’t want to see but really would like to. Tottenham have been architects of their own downfall in losing discipline but those injuries to Micky van der Ven and James Maddison were ill portents. Ange Postecoglou is flamin’ ragin, too. This game is Chelsea’s for the taking, and somewhere in Manchester, Pep Guardiola’s rather enjoying himself.
45+11 min: Now Reece James is in lumber, and VAR is called in to watch him forearm smashing Udogie. Chelsea on the brink here, too. He escapes a red card.
45+9 min: Tottenham commit numbers forward, and find themselves on the end of Chelsea counter. Emerson Royal makes a desperate tackle. Then Jackson tugs down Sarr and suddenly it goes off again. Colwill’s top has completely been blown as he goes at Sarr and then only Royal pulling him away saves him. Chelsea can’t afford to lose it too.
45+7 min: Sterling, who has been excellent, throws himself to the ground as Royal’s leg nears his. That was dive. Why no yellow card? Why indeed.
45+6 min: Tottenham retain a threat, and Porro almost finds Kulusevski – remember him? – with a lofted cross. It just evades him.
45+5 min: Eric Dier back in the team, and having to make desperate clearances. Hello, darkness, my old friend…Chelsea have been superb, by the way, really holding their discipline while Spurs have self-immolated.
45+3 min: Chelsea are pulling at Tottenham, who have set up a very high line for that makeshift defensive line. Udogie, whose foul started off the madness, seems to have completely lost the plot.
45+2 min: Spurs have managed to fit their usual disaster scenario into 30 short minutes. That title challenge was fun while it lasted but this was a reversion to type in record time. It’s actually hard to forget this game is still level.
45 min: Van der Ven has to be carried off, he’s in agony. And there’s two subs made. Maddison leaves the field, too, with Emerson Royal on, and Hojberg on. That’s both centre-backs and number 10 gone. Utter disaster for Tottenham.
Van der Ven twangs his hamstring!
44 min: Maddison is up, and moving and looking happier. We are told there will be 12 minutes of time added on…and, oh no, Van der Ven, chasing Jackson, pulls up and his hamstring has gone. That’s the end of a player who has been so good this season, and he’ll be out for a few weeks yet.
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42 min: Worry for Spurs. Maddison goes down with little contact, chasing down the ball with Reece James only in the vague vicinity. Son, meanwhile, is engaging the referee in chat. Good money after bad. Better to speak to his teammates and tell them to calm the hell down.
41 min: Pochettino is enjoying this, and Postecoglou has lost his own head, and been booked. Not such a chilled-out entertainer now. Poch meanwhile is telling his team to keep passing and tire out their opponents.
39 min: Ange Postecoglou has some calming down to do in that dressing room. How does he do it? Get the guitar out? Give it some Go-Betweens or Men At Work? His team have just had their first attack for a while and Pape Sarr tries to shoot from distance.
Chelsea have another goal chalked off...
37 min: Yes, again. Sterling was offside, and Jackson converted well. No controversy this time. No sending off, either.
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36 min: Tottenham have themselves to blame here. They’ve completely lost it. And now Porro has injured himself in having a swipe at Conor Gallagher.
Goal! Tottenham 1-1 Chelsea (Palmer, 35 pen)
Vicario gets both hands to it, and still can’t keep it from going in of the post, the old Teddy Sheringham penalty, in, off and in.
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33 min: Immediate Ange sub: off goes Brennan Johnson, on comes Eric Dier.
Chelsea have a goal disallowed but get a penalty, Romero is red-carded!
30 min: Utter utter chaos! Caicedo rifles in a shot from the edge of the box and Chelsea think they are level. The celebrations are immediately quelled by Jackson being ruled offside and interfering with play. Meanwhile, Romero has fouled Fernandez in the buildup, so if this is ruled out, then we should have a penalty. Jackson is offside, VAT tells us, so no goal and now we go back to Van der Ven missing Sterling, and now Romero hacking into Fernandez. Crazy stuff from Romero, crazy sequence. Stockley Park is working overtime. Michael Oliver goes to the screen, and has a long, long look. It’s a straight red for Romero, who should have been sent off before.
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27 min: More chaos as Tottenham, through Udogie, get the ball cleared off the line. Feels like Spurs want to restage the Battle of the Bridge.
25 min: Spurs seem a little too overheated here. They have been saved on two clear red cards. The goal chalked off was fair enough. Chelsea have also found a way back into the game.
Sterling has a goal chalked off by VAR, Romero escapes a red card
22 min: This was chaos. Thiago Silva throws in a reducer. Romero throws in a foul on Colwill and kicks out at him, and then Sterling goes up the other end to score. Sadly for him, there was an inadvertent handball involved, so no goal. Why wasn’t Romero sent off? It was total David Beckham 1998.
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Udogie escapes a red card
19 min: Johnson wins a Tottenham corner. The ball is cleared out and Udogie is booked for a very rash foul on Sterling. It looks two-footed, and vicious. VAR has a look. No control. He takes the ball, and that’s the only good thing about it. Sterling saved him by skipping over it. Lucky, lucky boy.
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16 min: This is too easy for Tottenham to attack. Johnson and Maddison get a run down the inside left, and Reece James has to hurriedly clear the ball.
Son has a goal chalked off by VAR
15 min: Tottenham have the ball in the net. Johnson, out to Udogie, and across to Son, who slots home. The celebrations are quickly curtailed as VAR is called. It’s a long wait. John Brooks is the VAR, and offside is given to loud boos. It was liquid football, but offside by a whisker.
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12 min: But what’s this? Sterling puts on the afterburners and Jackson checks and opens up the angle for a shot. Vicario saves superbly. What a find he’s been. From the corner, Disasi heads well wide.
11 min: Cole Palmer has been Chelsea’s best player, holding up the ball with nous and buying time for his colleagues. Bit of Manchester grit required for Chelsea, they are looking a soft touch.
9 min: Bissouma and Enzo Fernandez get in tangle, but both will be OK. So far, the £100m man and his £100m partner is being given the full runaround by Caicedo and Sarr.
7 min: Chelsea rocked back. Porro then has a shot from distance, as Tottenham smell blood. Chelsea all over the show. Tottenham have the time and space to find their passes, and all while Chelsea can’t.
Goal! Tottenham 1-0 Chelsea (Kulusevski, 6)
That previous attack was a dummy run. Sarr plays the ball wide to Kulusevski and Colwill is slow to come out, and the shot deflects off the Chelsea defender and in.
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5 min: Maddison is up and about, and set up Porro and Son has a first shot, fizzed in at an angle. Sanchez is untroubled.
3 min: Bissouma is brought down after a typical run. He’s not played since that red card at Luton. James Maddison is down, but it looks an impact injury, sore rather than drastic and debilitating.
2 min: The atmosphere is raucous, plenty of time and opportunity for refreshment on a Monday evening. Tottenham choosing to pass around at the moment, Chelsea covering off the angles.
And away we go at the Tottenham Stadium...
1 min: Tottenham immediately come under pressure as Jackson surges into their box. Pedro Porro comes out to clear.
There is a ceremony of remembrance, the wreaths laid by two Chelsea pensioners after the Last Post.
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The “they’re loving Ange instead” joke that is pervading is not good if don’t want to have *that* song as an earworm. It’s just replaced Now And Then, which is far better.
Krishna gets in touch: “Good evening John. Not since the days of AVB did a combination of an expensive outfit and a strategically gifted manager appear this ineffective .Chelsea is soon going to bear the ignominy of matches played being a bigger number than the points on the table. Dark days for us Chelsea fans.”
One thing to note, the return of 12 points from 10 games is the same as under Poch in his first season at Spurs. And that turned out nice. So keep the faith, if you are so inclined.
Richard Hirst gets in touch: “If tonight’s game is half as much fun as the Battle of the Bridge it will be great. Only trouble with that was that Chelsea managed to draw.”
Mr Hirst is a Fulham supporter. I recall listening to that game on the radio. Absolute bedlam it sounded like.
Mauricio Pochettino spoke to Sky Sports, talking mostly about…Spurs: “Maddison is doing really well, he’s had a great impact for Tottenham. It’s a challenge for us, we’re still evolving and we need time because the team is young.
“The key today is to stop Maddison because we need to dominate the midfield area. They are strong with Bissouma and Sarr, they recover the ball as soon as possible. We need to control it with Enzo, Gallagher and Moises.”
Ange Postecoglou spoke to Sky Sports: “They have a good line-up and players and Mauricio is a top manager. It’s going to be a tough game for us. But we have been good and I am sure there is going to be a good atmosphere in the stadium.”
“It is going to be a game when with both teams trying to play there will be space out there. Brennan’s pace is great and he has had a bit of a disrupted start so I am looking forward to seeing what he can do for us.”
Jeff Sax gets in touch: “This game feels like a real classico!!” Yes, and with respect, a little more than the German equivalent.
Hugh Molloy gets in touch: “Enjoying Daniel Sturridge’s punditry and tactical analysis. He genuinely thinks about the questions he’s asked, introduces nuance and tries to avoid cliche. A fresh and confident voice.”
Full agree. And he’s very humble about his own achievements. That’s not always the case with certain pundits.
For Chelsea, Levi Colwill, Thiago Silva and Moises Caicedo and out go Marc Cucurella, Benoit Badiashile and Lesley Ugochukwu from last week’s Blackburn game. Reece James makes his first start in the Premier League since August and will captain his team.
Destiny Udogie and Brennan Johnson come in for Ben Davies and Richarlison for Spurs, and that adds some real speed to Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham.
The teams
Tottenham: Vicario, Udogie, Van de Ven, Romero, Porro, Bissouma, Matar Sarr, Johnson, Maddison, Kulusevski, Son. Subs: Forster, Royal, Dier, Skipp, Hojbjerg, Gil, Celso, Bentancur, Richarlison.
Chelsea: Sanchez, Colwill, Silva, Disasi, James, Fernandez, Caicedo, Sterling, Gallagher, Palmer, Jackson. Subs: Petrovic, Cucurella, Gusto, Maatsen, Badiashile, Ugochukwu, Mudryk, Madueke, Deivid.
Early team news
Destiny Udogie and Ben Davies face fitness tests to fill Spurs’ left-back spot. Ivan Perisic, Ryan Sessegnon and Manor Solomon will all be missing.
Trevoh Chalobah, Carney Chukwuemeka, Ben Chilwell, Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia and Christopher Nkunku all remain out for Chelsea. Armando Broja and Mykhailo Mudryk returned to training this week and Benoît Badiashile made a successful return in the Carabao Cup last week.
And Poch is…looking elsewhere already?
We cannot underestimate the Chelsea and Tottenham fans. The Chelsea fans know we were at Tottenham, and the situation in the Champions League and the Battle of the Bridge … are we going to hide this emotion? No, it’s impossible. And I cannot say I forget all the things [at Tottenham], that would be stupid. I’m going to be natural and show every game that I want to win. And at the same time I want to enjoy being at a place I was part of the process of creating something special there. I am really calm and I want to enjoy and hope for a good night for us.
The Battle of the Bridge, a classic of stuff you don’t want to see but actually do.
The revival of Son Heung-min is just one of the many good things Ange Postecoglou has done for Tottenham.
Going into the transfer market and bringing in someone that was going to score 25-30 goals, I just don’t think that was realistic. He’s got great capacity for working, pressing. I just thought he would be a really good fit for us here. He wasn’t the only option I was looking at but probably the best fit for where we are as a team and what we needed. The more he plays, the better he’ll get in terms of being a goal threat and he’s a massive asset to have.
Preamble
Big Ange v Poch. For Tottenham fans, this must be like seeing the ex with a hated wally but turning up with an Australian stunner, if you can forgive the Swiss Toni-isms. Tottenham, yes, Tottenham can go back to the top of the Premier League. What with Liverpool and Arsenal faltering it could soon be them and Manchester City competing for the Premier League title … OK, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves but it’s safe to say that in the Poch years, Tottenham never started so well. And it can also be said that rarely at Chelsea, in the last 20 years, have they started so poorly as this season.
Pochettino is having to build a new, workable team out of what Todd Boehly has herded in but it can’t be easy, and he doesn’t quite seem like the same bloke who had such swagger for much of his time at Tottenham. Still, Chelsea still call their visits to north London “Three Points Lane” so maybe this can kickstart his time at his second London club. Should be a cracker, plenty of needle out there. Nothing daft, hopefully, but enough for a Monday night fizzer, hopefully.
Kick-off is 8pm UK time. Join me.
