Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea. Premier League.
Tottenham Hotspur StadiumAttendance61,104.
Report and highlights as Chelsea seal first away win since November 2 to tighten grip on top-four spot
Sunday 22 December 2019 23:17, UK
Willian's double inspired Chelsea back to winning ways as a 2-0 victory over Tottenham saw Frank Lampard haunt Jose Mourinho - but the victory was overshadowed by allegations of racist abuse.
Willian whipped Chelsea into the lead on 12 minutes and doubled his tally when he converted a VAR-awarded penalty on the stroke of half-time, and that was enough as Lampard outwitted his former manager to inflict the Portuguese's first defeat against a club he used to manage at the 14th attempt.
Spurs imploded in the second half, losing their heads on and off the pitch as Heung-min Son received a straight red card for petulantly lashing out at Antonio Rudiger.
And things got even uglier for 10-man Spurs as three announcements on the PA system warned supporters against racist chanting after Chelsea defender Rudiger brought alleged abuse to his captain Cesar Azpilicueta and referee Anthony Taylor's attention.
It was billed as the master versus the apprentice, Lampard testing his wits against the manager under whom he won five major honours at Chelsea, but it was roles reversed as Mourinho found himself on the end of a tactical lesson after Chelsea lined up with three centre-halves and a rejigged formation.
Things were evenly matched early on, but Chelsea pounced on miscommunication and poor Spurs defending as Willian was afforded far too much space to whip in a wonderous opener from a corner by Serge Aurier, who has needlessly gifted the Blues the set-piece after getting his wires crossed with Gazzaniga.
Chelsea quickly seized control of the pace of the game while Spurs steadily grew frustrated with their disjointed performance. It took 27 minutes for the hosts of muster a response of any kind to Chelsea's opener, but when it came Harry Kane rashly fired over from Moussa Sissoko's cut-back.
A minute later Kane tried to turn provider as his ball across goal reached Son at the back post, but like his strike partner he fired over the bar.
Spurs frustrations came to a head on 43 minutes when Dele Alli clattered into Mateo Kovacic, sparking an off-the-ball altercation that ended in a melee involving both sets of outfield players. Both midfielders were booked for their roles.
But worse was yet to come for Spurs. A mindless acrobatic clearance from Gazzaniga saw the goalkeeper strike Marcos Alonso in the area and, after a VAR consultation, a penalty was awarded, and Willian clinically punished the Argentine's rush of blood to the head to double his and Chelsea's tally.
Mourinho introduced Christian Eriksen at the break but it failed to derail the dominance of Chelsea, who thought they had added a third within 10 minutes of the restart when Tammy Abraham converted a rebound after Gazzaniga spilled Alonso' drive, but it was ruled out for offside.
Son's moment of madness ended Spurs' hopes of overturning the two-goal deficit on 62 minutes, the South Korean given his marching orders after a lengthy VAR review for kicking out at Rudiger.
Spurs frustration in the stands boiled over soon after as objects were thrown onto the field towards goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga and Rudiger gestured that he had been subjected to a racist remark following his involvement in Son's dismissal.
Referee Taylor spoke with both managers in their technical areas before three anti-racism stadium announcements left the sourest of tastes at the end of such an impressive Chelsea performance.
Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho: "I was focused on the game and was far away from the area where it looked like the incident happened. I have not much to say apart from that it saddens me.
"I hate racism in society, I hate racism in football. I'm disappointed things like that still can happen. But the referee stopped the game, spoke to the teams, spoke to the captains, spoke to the coaches.
"I was losing and didn't want the game to be stopped, but immediately when I knew why the game was stopped, I obviously understood and accepted it. The club is a very proud club in these kind of situations, and the club will try to deal with it internally."
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard: "All I know is that Antonio Rudiger heard a racist chant or comment. I haven't had an individual conversation with Rudiger, I've only addressed the group and a few of the lads are in doping.
"Of course I will support Toni, as we would support any of our players and, in fact, any opposition players, wherever it happens, whatever stadium it happens at. It needs to be dealt with. As I don't know any more than that, we will wait for the process to happen.
"I don't know if it's getting better or worse, or not. We are much more aware of the fact we have the protocol and to report it is a positive step. Of course, in a perfect world you would wish that is not needed. I don't know if it is getting better or worse but if it is fact and it did happen it needs to be dealt with and the punishment needs to be strong."
Analysis from Sky Sports' Gary Neville
"Because of the recent runs of the teams, and with Jose Mourinho in charge, I thought he'd fancy it. He looked confident before the game, but that was a brilliant day for Frank Lampard.
"There's been many times over the past 10, 15 or 20 years where we've seen international managers put on great tactical displays where they've outplayed English managers.
"To see an English manager put on a performance like that, and to set up a team like that... they were out-fought, outplayed, Tottenham. For Chelsea, everything went right. But it was a good day not only for them but for English coaching.
"Lampard was up against one of the best coaches in the world over the last 25 years, and he really held his own. It was a really important moment for him as he really got it right."
Chelsea winger Willian scored just the second brace of his Premier League career (215th appearance), with his previous one coming back in December 2016 against Stoke City.
Spurs host Brighton in the Premier League on Boxing Day at 12.30pm before Chelsea entertain Southampton at Stamford Bridge at 3pm.
