Tottenham’s date with Chelsea looms large
By Ryan Wrenn
Saturday’s FA Cup semifinal will mark the third time this season that Tottenham and Chelsea have faced each other competitively, but those previous matches aren’t what Mauricio Pochettino will be concentrating on.
Instead, he will look back almost exactly a year ago. On May 2nd, 2016, Tottenham traveled to Stamford Bridge in what at the time was a must-win match.
Though any reasonable person at the time thought the chances of Spurs catching Leicester City to win the title were microscopic, mathematically it was still possible when Pochettino brought his team across London.
If Spurs could beat a weak looking Blues side and then do the same against Southampton and Newcastle, the reasoning went, they might just win their first top flight trophy in over half a century.
Buoyed by that possibility, Spurs looked by far the better team in the first half. First Harry Kane then Heung-min Son scored, leaving Pochettino with a commanding lead as the team headed into the locker room at the interval.
Interim Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink and his team weren’t content to see the match though like that however. They came back in the second half and fought back, first halving their deficit via a Gary Cahill header then eventually leveling the account via a wonderful strike from Eden Hazard in the 83rd minute.
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Frustrated in their inability to defend their lead, Spurs players lashed out. By the time the match ended, nine of the 14 Spurs players who took to the pitch had received yellow cards. In an altercation with Diego Costa, Mousa Dembélé attempted to gouge the Spanish international’s eye. The act earned the Belgian a six match band from the Football Association, one that stretched into the beginning of this season.
Far worse awaited Spurs however. The draw, as it happened, was just enough to see Leicester claim their first ever Premier League title. Chelsea’s second half push stripped Tottenham of whatever hope they had to enjoy a historic season. The schadenfreude was thick as the Battle of Stamford Bridge came to an end.
Subsequent matches between the two sides have proved to be much more sober affairs.
Tottenham earned a lead in the first half of their follow up visit to the Bridge in November, only for Antonio Conte’s indomitable side to push back for a win.
With the two sides both in the midst of hot streaks, they met again in January. Chelsea only just equaled a Premier League record of 13 straight wins. Pochettino managed to out-think Antonio Conte on the day however, and his Spurs side earned a 2-0 win.
As entertaining as those matches might have been, the stakes there hardly compare to last season’s bloodbath and this coming weekend’s FA Cup semifinal. Tottenham will once again be faced with a do-or-die match that might come to define their whole season.
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The semi seems particularly important after a string of failures that saw the club drop out of the EFL Cup, the Champions League and Europa League under inglamorous circumstances. Those lows have been balanced by some fine highs, especially over the last few months, but silverware would be the most effective salve.
Their current run for the title — only four points separate them from Chelsea in first — represents some hope for glory, though remains a long shot. A run for the FA Cup final feels more likely, so expect yet more heated scenes when Spurs and Chelsea take to the Wembley pitch on Saturday.