Tottenham were reduced to nine players after Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie received red cards but held onto a draw until the 75th minute and almost scored a second equaliser before Nicolas Jackson completed hat-trick in second-half stoppage time
Tuesday 7 November 2023 19:19, UK
Monday Night Football delivered a game for the ages as Chelsea struggled to finish off nine-player Tottenham until Nicolas Jackson scored a second-half hat-trick - but what were the headline numbers?
It all started so well for Tottenham when Dejan Kulusevski smashed home a deflected and well-earned opener after just five minutes and 21 seconds - Spurs' quickest-ever goal against Chelsea in the Premier League.
But the game descended, or, for the neutral, arguably, ascended into chaos after Tottenham received two red cards, with Cristian Romero seeing red and conceding a penalty - converted by Cole Palmer - for a wild challenge in the 33rd minute and Destiny Udogie receiving a second yellow in the 55th minute for a mistimed lunge.
Tottenham managed 38.7 per cent possession against the Blues - despite, when factoring stoppage time, playing with 10 players for 34 minutes and playing with nine for another 44 minutes.
For context, Everton registered a 1-1 draw with Brighton on Saturday on a season-low 20.13 per cent possession with 11 players on the field.
Tottenham's ability to retain that share of the ball with nine players becomes even more monumental by the fact Chelsea rank above Brighton for average possession this season on 61.93 per cent - behind only Manchester City.
Amid the myriad of controversies, including two red cards and five disallowed goals, the epic game lasted more than 111 minutes - which is longer than any other Premier League game since our records began at the start of last season.
However, the flashpoints contributed to only 48 minutes of active game time. Out of the 110 league games this season, that ranks as the 108th lowest this term - only Sheffield United vs Wolves and Luton vs Burnley rank lower.
The graphic below shows how Spurs set off on the front foot but had their backs against the wall for the majority of the game after Romero saw red in the 33rd minute.
Romero has now picked up more red cards (four) than any other player for a Premier League team in all competitions since his debut season in 2021/22, while only Craig Dawson, Lewis Dunk and Wilfred Ndidi have conceded more penalties (five each) than the Argentine (four).
The xG race chart reveals how the Blues failed to capitalise on a string of opportunities all the way up to Jackson's first goal of the game - but also reveals how Tottenham created two clear chances in the dying embers of the game, which could have produced one of the greatest draws in Premier League history.
It was the first time in history two Tottenham players received red cards in a home Premier League game and just the fourth time in the competition at any venue (vs Everton in August 2001, vs Stoke in October 2008 and vs Bournemouth in May 2019).
In total, 59 teams have gone down to nine players or fewer and faced XI in the Premier League since 1992/93 - with just two wins, seven draws and 50 defeats.
Jackson finally broke the deadlock in the 75th minute and proceeded to complete his hat-trick, which was one more goal than he managed in his previous nine league appearances.
However, despite playing against eight outfield players and a high line - the Senegal striker still only matched his expected goals (xG) of 2.88 - having blazed another golden opportunity over the bar in the 99th minute and missing two other chances in the 11th and 56th minutes.
Jackson had only managed two league goals before facing Spurs but has now extended that tally to five. However, that total is still 2.11 shy of his expected goals total of 7.11. That negative differential ranks as the fourth-worst in the league this term, behind Marcus Rashford, team-mate Enzo Fernandez - who has missed a penalty - and Neal Maupay.
Ange Postecoglou finally suffered his first home league defeat as a manager in England or Scotland, with Tottenham and Celtic, respectively - in his 43rd game in charge on home soil.
The defeat also saw Spurs become the last side to lose in the Premier League this season - their first defeat in 12 games, having last lost 3-1 in another London derby, against Brentford in May.
But Postecoglou has implemented a dramatic style change at the club, which has seen Spurs rank top or among the elite across a raft of pressing and attacking statistics this season - most notably for pressing in the final third and generating touches in the opposition box.
Incredibly, Spurs maintained a high line after they went down to 10 players and refused to retreat even after that number was reduced to nine. On average, Spurs' starting distance - which is the distance teams regain possession from their own goal - was registered at 40.01m, which is merely one metre shy of the Premier League average this season.
In contrast, Chelsea only recorded five metres higher than that figure at 45.38m, as Mauricio Pochettino's men were typically held on the halfway line, trying to break Spurs' risky offside trap.
Speaking after the game, Sky Sports reporter Patrick Davidson asked the Spurs boss why he maintained a high line when most teams would retreat into a low block and look for opportunities on the counter.
"It's just who we are, mate," said Postecoglou. "It's who we're going to be for as long as I'm here. If we go down to five men, we'll have a crack."
The philosophy has reaped considerable success to date and utilising the halfway line, arguably, proved to be the best tactic to keep Chelsea at bay, albeit utterly unique for a team reduced to nine players. It almost worked.
One thing is for sure: Tottenham are an exciting watch once again.
