Tuchel tactical master class inspires Chelsea to victory in head coach's first London derby - The match report
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| Jorginho smashes the ball past Hugo Lloris to give Chelsea the lead |
A penalty from Jorginho, smashed rather than placed into the Tottenham net in the first half , proved to be the difference as Thomas Tuchel secured his first away win as Chelsea head coach.
On a cold rainy night in North London, it was no more than Chelsea deserved as the result consigned former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho to back to back defeats in the premier league for the first time in his managerial career. The victory also moved Chelsea above Tottenham in the league table. Chelsea sit i sixth place only four points of fourth place Liverpool.
Goalscorer Jorginho ditched his previous little jump style following his recent failures from the penalty spot, after some sharpness from Timo Werner which drew the foul in the penalty box from Eric Dier. The goal was nothing more than Chelsea deserved for an excellent display in the first half which Chelsea totally dominated despite creating a few more chances in the second half more opportunities came for the Blues.
Tottenham were thankful for the saves made my their goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris for keeping the score at a respectable 1-0 although they did have a header go just wide later o to claim what would have been an undeserved point.
Chelsea are yet to concede a goal in the three games under the management of Thomas Tuchel. The last Chelsea manager to have achieved this feat with Chelsea was Jose Mourinho.
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| Tuchel and Mourinho shake hands at the end following Chelsea's win over Tottenham |
Team Selection
Coming into this came on the back of his first win as Chelsea head coach, Thomas Tuchel made one change to the team. Reece James had been a doubt to face Tottenham but the 21 year old passed a fitness test and came into the line-up as a right wing back that meant Callum Hudson-Odoi moved forward to join Timo Werner in attack. Tammy Abraham was dropped to the bench.
Tottenham sit back
Before the game Tuchel said that his team selection would mean a change in shape, with Mason Mount playing in a no.10 role, this meant that Callum Hudson-Odoi would be playing more or less as a striker with Timo Werner, within 10 seconds of the game starting the German looped a head wide of goal as he got on the end of a long ball.
That was the closest Chelsea would come to opening the scoring until the opening goal as the game settled into somewhat of a distinct pattern, with the Blues making most of the play.
Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy only had one tame shot to deal within the games opening stages and Hudson Odoi saw one of his shots deflected well wide, following the defeat away to Brighton, Tottenham had switched from a back three to a back four and sat deep, allowing Chelsea to play the game largely in Tottenham's half.
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| Callum Hudson-Odoi in action against Tottenham |
A difference with the penalty
Chelsea were not lacking in terms of possession of the ball but there was proving to be little in terms of a goal threat despite a few promising looking moves.
Thiago Silva then took the initiative and tried to get Chelsea going with a long ball from the back and Cesar Azpiliqueta followed a few minutes later, this time with a greater profit as Chelsea won a penalty.
Tottenham defender Eric Dier tried to cut out the long pass but was unable to reach it and when he attempted to retrieve the situation whilst lying on the soggy pitch , he clumsily tangled his legs with Timo Werner who nipped in ahead of him and gave the penalty away.
It was just beyond the midway point in the first half when Jorginho smashed the ball hard into the net with his new no frills way.
That high point for the Blues was followed 10 minutes later with a huge low as Thiago Silva lay on the floor with an injury whilst stretching for the ball. He was replaced by Andreas Christensen.
There was good link up play between James and Hudson-Odoi on occasions, with their good work down the right hand side looking the best attacking threat for Chelsea, they combined well before half-time for a cross to be put in by Hudson-Odoi only for Tottenham to cut it out at the near post. Tuchel as ever looked an animated figure on the touchline as he wished for the ball to go further.
Tottenham for the first time did manage to get the ball into the Chelsea box for the first time in quite a while but the header from Serge Aurier went wide. There were very few occasional attacks for the home side before they got into the Chelsea box. It would appear they missed their talisman Harry Kane in a big way.
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| Jorginho with the penalty which won the game for Chelsea |
Game opens up
Early on in the second half Hudson-Odoi dragged a shot wide and in the 58th minute of the game there was an opportunity for a counter attack, something had Tottenham had not allowed to happen rarely before. Mason Mount drew defenders to him and slipped a ball through to Timo Werner but as soon as Werner was about to pull the trigger , Serge Aurier got back in time, got his boot to the ball and set it out for a corner.
That was somewhat of a lucky escape for Mourinho's men however, there still was plenty of space opening up for Chelsea to play in. Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris had to head away a high back pass from Eric Dier and reached a dangerous ball from Mason Mount before Christian Pulisic could. The American came on in place of Hudson-Odoi who had already had nine busy days.
Jorginho then ran through the Tottenham defence but saw his shot go wide and when Mount found an opportunity to score through a snaking run, he saw his shot well saved by Hugo Lloris.
Chelsea could have been left to rue those missed opportunities. Edouard Mendy had to stretch for a long range effort from Erik Lamela with over 10 minutes left of the game but our goalkeeper was equal to the shot, as he kept a 10th clean sheet in the premier league.
Tottenham's best chance fell to Carlos Vinicius only for the Brazilian to wastefully head wide at the far post, this was before Heung-Min Son snatched at his shot and saw it go well over the bar as the game neared the end. Despite a late surge from the home side to salvage a point , it had been a largely solid defensive display from Chelsea who can be pleased with their nights work.
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| Christian Pulisic was prevented from getting to the ball by Hugo Lloris |
Winning streak over Tottenham continues
Chelsea have had a famous run of success against Tottenham over years and yesterday's result, Chelsea's current unbeaten run over Tottenham stretches to five games. Chelsea have won consecutive away league games against Tottenham for the first time since a run of three between April 2004 and August 2005. Chelsea have won the most premier league games against Tottenham which is more than any other team Chelsea have won against in the premier league with the total now standing at 31 wins.
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| There was a first start for Reece James under Thomas Tuchel |
What's next
For Chelsea there will be a second consecutive away game but it will be a trip further than North London on Sunday. Chelsea will instead travel to South Yorkshire to face Sheffield United who currently sit bottom of the table.
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