Peter Henry
Chelsea consolidated their place in the top four today, putting in a hugely impressive performance to beat London rivals Spurs 2-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Despite coming into the game in poor form Chelsea looked sharp right from the off and deservedly took the lead on 13 minutes when Brazilian attacker Willian cut in from the left and finished expertly into the far corner.
Harry Kane missed a good chance to draw the scores level, but all in all, Chelsea dominated the opening period and would be handed the chance to go in at half-time two up after the home sides ‘keeper Paulo Gazzaniga completely missed the ball after attempting an acrobatic clearance and clattered into Blues defender Marcos Alonso.
Man of the Match Willian made no mistake from the spot, slotting home confidently into the bottom corner, and Lampard’s men went in at the break full value for their two-goal lead.
Spurs boss Jose Mourinho attempted to match Chelsea’s system, changing to three at the back at half-time, but any chance the home side had of staging a comeback seemed to fade away on 64 minutes when Heung Min Son was sent off for a petulant kick out at Antonio Rudiger.
Speaking after the game Blues skipper Cesar Azpilicueta was delighted with what was a superb all-round performance from Frank Lampard’s men.
“It feels very good both for us as a team but also for the fans,” Azpilicueta told Sky Sports.
”It’s a good result. We knew we were coming into a Tottenham team who were playing well and derby games are always so important.
”We fought and we played some really good football. We know that when we score just before half time it gives us better advantage.
”We came out tried to score a third but the team did an amazing job and it is credit to us all. ”
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