Chelsea 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur: result and report

The Pundit picked Chelsea (56%): wrong

Report

Tottenham Hotspur won 2-0 at Stamford Bridge. They deserved it more than a late, scrappy scoreline suggests. Chelsea were expected to win at home, yet Roberto De Zerbi's side had more of the ball and more of the attacking play.

How the game turned late

Then the game swung Tottenham Hotspur's way in the space of ten minutes.

Mike Penders scored an own goal on 77 minutes to give the visitors the lead. Three minutes later Cole Palmer was sent off for a second yellow card. That left Chelsea chasing the game with ten men and without one of their main creators.

Mathys Tel settled it on 87 minutes, while Chelsea were still a man down. His goal made him the standout player of the match.

Tottenham Hotspur's territory, not chances

The clearest signal is how much of the game Tottenham Hotspur had. They kept 69% of the ball, made 42 dangerous attacks to Chelsea's 32 and played nine key passes to six. They also sustained far more pressure than Chelsea across the match, because the home side rarely managed long spells in the Tottenham half.

That territory did not turn into a flood of chances, though. Tottenham Hotspur's xG was 0.84 to Chelsea's 0.53. Each side had four shots on target and one big chance. This was a game of possession and pressure rather than repeated openings, and the opening goal came from a Chelsea player.

Chelsea were not overrun in their own box, despite seeing so little of the ball. They matched the visitors for shots on target and big chances.

The problem was everything else. Xabi Alonso's side spent most of the game without the ball and created little when they had it. Once the own goal and Palmer's dismissal arrived within three minutes of each other, there was no realistic way back.