Spurs made a most intense start to the game, especially with their pressing, and gave Chelsea fits for the first 15-20 minutes. But Spurs didn’t really pose too much actual danger, with Thiago Silva and Andreas Christensen making crucial interventions early, and Kepa making one good save on a Son chance that might’ve been offside anyway.
It was in fact Chelsea who had the best chance(s) of the opening period, but Mount and Havertz both fluffed their lines when presented with great opportunities from passes by Lukaku and Azpilicueta, respectively.
As the half wore on, Chelsea were able to settle in gradually, and were able to establish some controlled possession in the latter stages, creating a few more half chances that didn’t pose that much danger.
Tuchel switched to a 3-5-2 at half, with Kanté coming on, and the change paid almost immediate dividends and Chelsea put Spurs under pressure and found the back of the net from a corner. We had a chance to double our lead almost immediately after, but Spurs cleared off the line from Alonso’s acrobatic effort. But Chelsea didn’t let up, and Kanté would in fact double our lead with a deflected long-shot just before the hour-mark.
We could’ve easily added a third, fourth, perhaps even a fifth goal, but somehow we failed to make our chances count. Eventually, it took Rüdiger to actually find the back of the net, slotting in after a Werner pass. 3-0!!
Top of the league!
Carefree.
- Three changes from last weekend, one enforced, with Kepa coming in for Mendy, who got clattered in the ribs on Tuesday. Ziyech and James drop out for Havertz and Silva.
- Christensen-Silva-Rüdiger the back three, which we saw a lot towards the end of last season, too, in big games
- Jovačić pivot, with Kanté presumably not fully fit yet. Kanté on at the half, for Mount, with Chelsea moving to a 3-5-2.
- Havertz-Lukaku-Mount the front three to start, with Alonso getting another start on the left. Werner on for the last 20 min to play up top off Lukaku.
- Another clean sheet!
- Chelsea top of the league, on goals scored!
