Tottenham Hotspur lost 1-4 to Chelsea in the 11th round of the 2023-24 Premier League (PL) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, at 5 a.m. ET on Sunday. It was Tottenham’s first defeat in 11 league games.
It was the biggest matchup of the round. Two iconic London clubs. With so much excitement in their past encounters, there were expectations that this match would be ‘big fun’.
Before the match, things were in Spurs’ favor. Spurs had started fresh under manager Enze Postecoglou and were unbeaten in 10 league games and in contention for the title. It wasn’t just the results. Tottenham’s attack was strong enough to overcome Harry Kane’s absence, and their defense had stabilized after years of struggle. Many fans were enamored with the tactics of Postecoglou, who never backed down against the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, and Manchester United.레모나토토 주소
Chelsea were in a rut. Since last season, the club has spent over $1 trillion in three transfer windows to rebuild, but it hasn’t paid off. Prior to this game, Chelsea had three wins, three draws, and four losses (12 points) in 10 league games, leaving them in 13th place. The gap between them and “first place” Manchester City has grown to 15 points.
The game was tightly contested. Both teams were looking to take the lead through intense forward pressure, but as if to reflect recent trends, it was Tottenham who struck first. In the sixth minute, Dejan Kulusebski’s shot deflected off Axel Disassi and into the Chelsea goal. From there, it was all Spurs.
But then came the bad news: midway through the first half, Cristian Romero was sent off for a rough tackle, and in the second half, Destiny Udogie was sent off for accumulating cautions. There were also injuries to key players: James Maddison, the team’s leading attacker, was forced off early due to illness, and Mickey van der Vaan was forced off with a hamstring injury. Playing with nine men, Tottenham suffered a 1-4 defeat, with Nicholas Jackson scoring a hat-trick in the second half.
The highly anticipated London derby ended with a 4-1 victory for Chelsea. However, the game left both teams with some nagging questions. For starters, Tottenham will be without a full squad. With a trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers next, Spurs will need to be at full strength. However, Romero and Udogie are likely to be suspended for their sending offs. Van der Vaart and Maddison are also questionable. Van der Vaart’s hamstring injury is expected to require a lengthy recovery period, while Maddison is not expected to be fit enough to play in the next game immediately. This means Spurs will have to face Wolverhampton without four of their key players.
Chelsea had no sending-offs or injuries. However, questions remained about the performance itself. After enjoying a numerical advantage in the first half, Chelsea found themselves in a much more favorable position early in the second half when Udogie was sent off. They brought on the likes of Mikhail Mkhitaryan and others to boost their attack, but Mkhitaryan failed to capitalize on his chances with over-dribbling, while others failed to break through Tottenham’s defense. Even when they did get into the box, their timing was off and they were caught offside. Luckily, Jackson’s goal in the 30th minute broke the deadlock and they were able to extend their lead, but even with a two-goal lead, the performance before the goal was enough to frustrate Chelsea fans.