Chelsea Fight Back For Win over Tottenham and Andre Villas-Boas

Jermain Defoe scored 200th career goal against Chelsea

Chelsea fought back to defeat Tottenham and their former manager, Andre Villas-Boas, at White Hart Lane in the Premier League. Tottenham recovered from a half-time deficit with two goals from William Gallas and Jermain Defoe in the opening eight minutes of the half but Chelsea maintained their unbeaten start to the season with two goals from Mata and one from Sturridge in the final minute.

Tottenham Hotspur 2  Chelsea 4

Scorers: Gallas, Defoe  Cahill, Mata (2), Sturridge

Team: Friedel; Walker, Gallas, Caulker, Vertonghen; Sandro, Huddlestone (Livermore); Lennon, Sigurdsson, Dempsey (Adebayor); Defoe  Subs: (unused) Lloris, Dawson, Naughton, Townsend, Falque

In a thrilling London derby, Tottenham supporters were stunned by the news that Mousa Dembele and Gareth Bale were both absent. Dembele was out due to the injury received playing for Belgium while Bale was a late withdrawal as his partner had gone into labour. Brad Friedel returned in goal and Tom Huddlestone started his first League game of the season in central midfield beside Sandro. Gylfi Siggurdson moved forward with Clint Dempsey on the left in place of Bale.

Gallas had an early opportunity for Spurs but throughout the first half Chelsea were the quicker team with more accurate passing and movement. Without the pace of Bale, Spurs were struggling to make any real impression on the visitors’ defence and only occasionally did Tthey look threatening. The opening goal came after 17 minutes when Gallas got his head to a corner but the it fell to Cahill on the edge of the box and his powerful shot took a deflection which took it above Friedel’s hands and into the net.

Spurs responded with a run and shot by Defoe but Cech parried it and Cole cleared for a corner. Chelsea broke very quickly and in numbers to threaten Spurs back four but they managed to clear the danger. Spurs, on the other hand, were struggling to fit Huddlestone, Sigurdsson and Dempsey into their system. They missed Bale’s pace and were unable to get the ball to Aaron Lennon. Spurs had a short passage of pressure as Defoe tried to shoot, it was blocked and fell to Sigurdsson who shot past.

Mata had an opportunity to increase the lead when he had a shot blocked by Friedel and then put the rebound over the bar. In the final minutes of the half, Spurs caused some uncertainty in the Chelsea defence when a Sigurdsson cross brought Cech some anxiety but the goalkeeper got a touch to it at the last moment to clear the danger. Chelsea defended in depth and Dempsey’s shot was blocked for a corner which caused more danger but Jan Vertonghen’s attempted shot was blocked and then Cole had to clear a Vertonghen cross at the back post in added time.

Chelsea were comfortable in the first period while Tottenham couldn’t find any rhythm to their game and their passing wasn’t accurate enough. They missed Bale for his pace and the understanding he has developed with Vertonghen on the left.

Tottenham came out and were level within 63 seconds as a free-kick from Huddlestone found Vertonghen at the far post. He played the ball across goal where Gallas was waiting to touch it in for the equaliser. It was his first goal for Tottenham scored against one of his former clubs. Chelsea were rattled and Spurs were much more positive and continued to worry Chelsea. Lennon was getting much more of the ball and causing problems with his running and pace. A Lennon cross reached Sigurdsson at the far post but his shot was deflected over for a corner. A minute later, Spurs pressed Chelsea to gain possession at the half-way line. Defoe played in Sigurdsson but  his shot was well saved by Cech. Spurs were much quicker on the ball and Vertonghen put in a cross which was cleared but he recovered the ball and fired in a shot which Cech held.

On 53 minutes, Defoe scored his 200th career goal. Lennon went on a short run and crossed from the edge of the box but Defoe hooked it into goal to put Spurs ahead. Tottenham continued to look dangerous in a very competitive and entertaining match but gradually Chelsea recovered their composure and two goals in three minutes from Mata turned the game in their favour. His first came after 66 minutes when Chelsea built up the pressure on Spurs who were sitting deeper. With Vertonghen caught upfield, a cross from the Chelsea right was cleared by Gallas but it fell to Mata to shoot from the edge of the box. Three minutes later Spurs failed to track Mata on a run and Hazard played him behind the defence to beat Friedel.

Spurs responded and kept Cech busy but Chelsea were always dangerous on the break with their pace and the number of players they pushed forward. It took a tackle from Vertonghen on Torres to deny Chelsea another goal and Friedel saved low from Oscar. In a final effort to get an equaliser Tottenham saw Cech deny them on a number of occasions with saves from Defoe, Lennon and Kyle Walker but then in the final minutes, in an effort to keep the ball in play, Walker only presented it to Mata who crossed to Sturridge at the far post to score a fourth.

In an exciting match Spurs lost for the first time since the opening day at Newcastle and Andre Villas-Boas didn’t get one over on his former employers. His team did him credit, especially without the threat Bale would have provided and the strength and stability Dembele would have given in central midfield. Spurs had 23 shots, 16 on target while Chelsea had 11 with seven on target. Chelsea maintain their hold at the top of the Premier League but Spurs showed that their defence is suspect although they are able to counteract that with the pace and skill of their midfield.

A very entertaining game after all the bad press football has received in recent days. Next up for Tottenham is their Europa League trip to Slovenia to play Maribor – a game they need to win to improve their standing in the group.