Dele Alli, Harry Kane and Heung-min Son score for Spurs, Olivier Giroud consolation for Chelsea
Thursday 3 January 2019 12:44, UK
Goals from Dele Alli, Harry Kane and Heung-min Son helped Tottenham to a 3-1 win over rivals Chelsea on Saturday night, ending the Blues' 18-game unbeaten run. Here, we pick out the talking points from the clash…
More derby delight for Spurs
Tottenham are the top team in London - according to the Premier League table, anyway. While the true holder of that honour will be fiercely contested by Chelsea and Arsenal supporters, Spurs fans have finally been able to enjoy some success over their neighbours in recent years.
Mauricio Pochettino has been at the heart of that shift, winning more Premier League London derbies than any other side (22) since he took charge, and Tottenham's success on Saturday was the first time they'd landed back-to-back league wins over Chelsea since August 1987.
With three wins in their past four meetings with the Blues - the amount they managed in their previous 20 clashes - Spurs have underlined their status as one of the top sides in the country.
The challenge will be to maintain these levels through the second half of the season and into May, when the honours, which have more frequently fallen Chelsea and Arsenal's way, are dished out.
Kane's record against the rivals
Another derby, another goal for Harry Kane. His strike against Chelsea had some assistance from David Luiz, who not only moved out of the way of his long-range strike but also blocked Kepa's view in the process. But there's no denying the Tottenham striker in these hotly-contested local clashes.
He now has 31 goals in 46 London derbies and 25 in 39 Premier League capital contests. That puts him joint sixth on the all-time table but, when it comes to goals per game, only Arsenal's Thierry Henry has been more prolific.
Kane could have had more on Saturday, having seen a first-half header well stopped before he passed up chances after the interval. But Arsenal will rightly be wary of the in-form Spurs skipper.
Eriksen back with a bang
It took Christian Eriksen just eight minutes to remind everyone watching why he is such an important player for Spurs.
Making his first Premier League start since September 22, the fit-again Dane whipped a devilish free-kick into the area for Dele Alli to glance in. Eight minutes later he claimed another assist for Spurs' second.
Those were two of seven key passes he made on the night during a virtuoso performance. To put that into context, that's more key passes than any player has recorded in any Premier League game this season.
Son could easily have converted a couple more, and Juan Foyth's header from another Eriksen pass was well saved. Pochettino will be desperate to keep him fit, on the pitch and pulling the strings during a crunch run of games.
David Luiz's day to forget
From getting out of the way of Kane's goalbound shot and blocking his 'keeper's view, to making a tame swipe at the ball as Son charged through for Tottenham's third, it was a game to forget for Chelsea centre-back David Luiz.
After being relegated to the sidelines under Antonio Conte last season, the Brazilian has battled back to become Maurizio Sarri's first choice in the Premier League this term. But there were shades of his reckless bad old ways at Wembley.
While Chelsea have the third-best defensive record in the division, level with Tottenham on 11 goals against, Sarri has already flagged his concerns about his team's solidity this season. And those fears were realised on Saturday.
Hazard's penalty claim
And yet it could all have been so different for Chelsea. With the visitors trailing by just one goal in the first half, they appeared to be harshly done by when Foyth - who is already gaining a reputation for carelessness in the box after giving away two spot-kicks on his debut - clumsily bundled into the back of Eden Hazard.
The Belgian went down in the box and was shocked to see referee Martin Atkinson wave away his appeal.
Had Chelsea levelled at that point it could easily have swayed the momentum of the match. But instead it was Spurs who took the ascendancy and went on to end Chelsea's hard-fought 18-game unbeaten streak.
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