Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea. Premier League.
Wembley StadiumAttendance55,465.
Report and highlights as Dele Alli, Harry Kane and Heung-min Son score for hosts
Sunday 25 November 2018 00:28, UK
Spurs ruthlessly ended Maurizio Sarri's 18-game unbeaten start as Chelsea manager with an impressive 3-1 win at Wembley.
An early header from Dele Alli (8) and a 25-yarder from Harry Kane (16) set them on their way, although Chelsea were denied a penalty prior to the hosts' second goal when Eden Hazard was pushed over by Juan Foyth inside the area.
Chelsea briefly threatened a second-half recovery, but it never materialised. A stunning solo goal from Heung-min Son (54), embarrassing David Luiz in the process, put the London derby beyond Sarri's men despite Olivier Giroud's late header (85).
Spurs' win takes them above Chelsea into third, and five points off Premier League leaders Manchester City.
Sarri had mentioned before the match his concern about Chelsea's poor performances in the opening 15 minutes of games, and the Blues' start would have done little to allay his fears.
Tottenham flew out of the blocks and scored with eight minutes gone when Alli met Christian Eriksen's free-kick at the near post with a glancing header which Kepa's palmed save should have kept out.
Son should have made it two almost immediately when his one-two with Eriksen was played back into his path with a beautiful lofted through-ball from the midfielder, but he blasted over when clean through.
Chelsea had some strong claims for a penalty moments later when Hazard was shoved by Foyth inside Spurs' penalty area, but Martin Atkinson waved play on.
Their frustration would not be helped by Spurs' second, forged when Kane spotted a gap inside Kepa's near post from 25 yards. The goalkeeper, perhaps unsighted by Luiz's decision to move out of the way of the shot, did not even move as it flew past him.
Then nine minutes into the second half, Son picked up a lovely Alli pass down the outside on the halfway line before outpacing Jorginho on the right flank. He bamboozled Luiz with a simple turn inside and fired at Kepa's far post to complete a sensational solo goal.
Alli and Kane then passed up opportunities to humiliate Chelsea further by missing presentable opportunities before Giroud grabbed himself a first league goal of the season - but little fanfare to go with it - by heading in Cesar Azpilicueta's cross late on.
Chelsea will harbour more concern for the condition of star man Hazard, who ended a largely quiet game by coming off the worse from a tackle late on and spent the final minutes limping around Wembley.
There were a number of players who would have had a good call to be named as the best on the pitch, and they all wore Tottenham shirts.
But Eriksen's seven key passes, a league high across the season to date, and two of them resulting in assists, left him standing out from the crowd.
Tottenham have missed the rhythm his spectacular passing radar gives them, as well as his set-piece delivery. They could have easily scored more from dead balls than just the Alli header from his early free-kick, and his return pass for Son's miss was stunning.
Both sides are back in European action in midweek, with Spurs hosting Inter Milan on Wednesday in a must-win Champions League match at 8pm.
Chelsea have already wrapped up qualification from their Europa League group, but can seal top spot against PAOK on Thursday at the same time.
