After beating themselves a week ago, it was the tactics of Tomas Tuchel that turned the tide in Chelsea’s favor on the day. The result was that for the second straight week, Tottenham capitulated in the second half, falling to defeat 0-3.
Tottenham started the game brightly, giving justice to the late, legend Jimmy Greaves MBE who passed away in the morning hours before kickoff. Spurs had a more progressive lineup from Nuno Santo than many expected, showing a good response to a timid lineup a week ago, which included the return of Giovani Lo Celso and Heung-Min Son.
Just as important as the players were the approach, where Spurs tried to get on the ball and were aggressive defensively off it. The pressure and aggression from Tottenham put Spurs in command and gave the team the better part of play in the first half. However, it was the in-match tactical changes at half-time that did Spurs in.
Tottenham dominated the middle of the park early
In the first half, Tottenham was simply first to the ball on the majority of occasions as Pierre Hojbjerg served as the deepest midfielder and was johnny on the spot often in the first 45-minutes.
Tottenham was aggressive all over the pitch, defending tight to their marks with Cristian Romero – who started at center-half with Eric Dier – as often found in the attacking half picking up Kai Havertz or Mason Mount.
Spurs were doing well recovering the ball and looked to attack Chelsea as quickly as possible in return. Managing the majority of possession (52%) and six shots without allowing Chelsea a shot on target, Tottenham had the better of the play.
However, most of that strong work was in the first 30-minutes of the match when the energy was high and players felt fresh. As the game wore on, the lack of game-time for some as well as having played just a few nights ago for others started to catch up with the Lilywhites and the game was up for grabs.
Tuchel makes the right moves at the half, Tottenham stays flat
While Tottenham seemed to go into the break and think everything was fine making no changes and continuing the limp play they ended the half with, Chelsea went about solving their issues.
With a player that holds the ball as well as Romelo Lukaku up top, Chelsea did not need three attackers, they needed an extra midfielder so they would have the numbers and start winning those 50/50 balls. To do this Tuchel brought on N’Golo Kante and took off Mason Mount.
This change worked from the start as Kante added that extra midfield pressure that was lacking for Chelsea in the first half and suddenly Tottenham were struggling to maintain possession, just minutes into the half.
As Dele failed to attack the ball on defence against a corner kick and Thiago Silva headed in Chelsea’s first, you could see the deflation on the team, which would only get worse.
Failing to react to a clear loss of control, Chelsea dominated for the entire first 15 minutes of the half, with 59% possession four corners, and five shots, all on target after managing zero in the first half.
The second goal sealed Spurs fate
The second goal was completely a result of the failure to react to Chelsea tactically as well as a failure to match the energy the Blues were bringing. Giovani Lo Celso had a poor touch – as he did all day – in the defensive third, losing the ball which was quickly centered to Kante. Kante took a shot from distance, which deflected off Eric Dier, wrong-footing Hugo Lloris and Spurs were down by two like that.
Tottenham brought on Bryan Gil and Oliver Skipp for Lo Celso and Ndombele but the game was already over. As Tottenham continued to fight, late on Davinson Sanchez came on for Cristian Romero is an odd substitution but Chelsea kept attacking, scoring a third in injury time.
Tottenham did some things well, like keeping Kovacic in check and limiting the opportunities for Romelo Lukaku. However, the depth and options for Chelsea carried the day as plan B worked for Chelsea and Spurs fell again
With a midweek Carabao Cup match at Wolves and then a trip to the Emirates for the north London derby, Tottenham cannot put their heads down as an opportunity to get right lay ahead, if the team can find the will.