Chelsea’s 1-0 victory over London rivals Tottenham Hotspur moved them back into the top four but heaped further pressure on Ange Postecoglou, who became the first Spurs boss to lose his opening four ties against Chelsea in Premier League play.
The visitors almost took the lead in the first minute when Trevoh Chalobah’s cross deflected off Nicolas Jackson and hit the post. Tottenham’s four-man defense was shaky in the opening stages, with Marc Cucurella and Malo Gusto causing problems out wide and Jackson failing from close range when presented with a golden opportunity.
Chelsea finally converted their dominance in the 50th minute when Enzo Fernández rose highest to head home from Cole Palmer’s pinpoint delivery. Moisés Caicedo seemed to have doubled the lead with a spectacular volley, but VAR disallowed it for offside.
Tottenham believed they had equalised when Pape Matar Sarr’s long-range shot slipped in past Robert Sánchez, only for the goal to be ruled out after another VAR check for a foul on Caicedo.
Spurs almost salvaged a point late on, only for Sánchez to save Son Heung-min from close range.
It was Chelsea’s 10th victory in their last 13 league meetings with Spurs, while it was Tottenham’s ninth away defeat of the season.
