5 Worst Moments of Tottenham’s Season
By Peter Brewis
1. Hazard’s Goal.
And here it is. The death blow, the gut punch, the final nail. Whichever euphemism you decide to use, they all refer to the same thing. Eden Hazard, who had scored two Premier League goals, both against newly promoted Bournemouth, up until that point in the season, found the back of the net against Tottenham Hotspur.
Sure, Tottenham’s title chances were on life support at this point in the season, but this was a chance to keep it alive. Spurs had to win, plain and simple. And for a while, it looked like they might do just that.
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The match had a similar atmosphere to the second Arsenal match, for some reason. Sure these are two London rivals, but Chelsea weren’t actually playing for anything. Except to ruin Tottenham’s title chances. And how very “Chelsea” of the situation, a team full of villains: Deigo Costa, John Terry, Cesc Fabregas, and Pedro, all relishing in their role as possible king maker. And the narrative wasn’t missed on the pitch either, the first installment of shoving matches came only 8 minutes in between Dembélé and Jon Obi Mikel. The referee was able to break it up and no cards were shown, something that Mark Clattenburg would draw heavy criticism for in the coming days.
Either way, the clashes would continue and the intensity would increase, but eventually, Harry Kane would score for Tottenham with good build up play from Dier, Eriksen, and Lamela all contributing one way or another. Tottenham would eventually add another in the 44th minute from Heung-min Son, and the visitors would take the 2-0 lead into the halftime dressing room.
And supporters got that feeling again. “This season is different,” they said to themselves. “The team looks good. They’re creating chances, they’re excelling in the moment. This isn’t the same Tottenham team that I’ve seen for so many years. A Premier League title is a real thing. Win today, and the pressure is back on Leicester. Surely they’ll crack”. And then the second half started.
The second half began with Chelsea controlling play and Edin Hazard beginning to look dangerous again. Like the Hazard who won the PFA player of the year the previous season. And in the 58th minute Chelsea drew level. Off of a set piece. The ball bounced around briefly before Cahill was able to smash it into the back of the net. 2-1 with a half hour to play.
But Tottenham have the best defense in the Premier League. And they look good going forward. Either Spurs can get another one and really put this thing to rest, or they’ll simply shut Chelsea down and leave with a 2-1 victory. And with hopes of a title still real.
A few more yellow cards and chances at both ends over the course of the next twenty minutes, but eventually it does come, as Hazard and Costa work a lovely one-two and Hazard curls a beautiful shot into the top corner. Lloris had no chance.
As far as the actual footballing goes after that there’s not a ton to talk about. Tottenham lose their heads, do some stupid things, and the match ends 2-2.
Leicester City are champions.
Sure, it’s terrible to see the title chances given away after leading 2-0 at half and that is certainly a major part of the reason why this goal is number one on this list, but the reaction of Chelsea and their fans adds to despair. Watching them celebrate and hearing their fans chanting for Ranieri like they themselves won the title made supporters all around the world absolutely sick to their stomach.
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It’s one to thing to lose a football match and to deal with it’s implications — that happens every week in every league. But knowing that the opponent is only experiencing the joy they are showing because of what Tottenham lost was an absolutely gut wrenching feeling. And to be fair, it was a different feeling than most Tottenham supporters were used to.