MOTD 2- Chelsea 4-0 Tottenham Hotspur

By on March 8, 2014

It wasn’t as much of a one-sided match that a 4-0 scoreline would suggest, rather a game in which Tottenham Hotspur’s defensive lapses gifted Chelsea momentum, and eventually goals that would spring Chelsea seven points clear at the top of the Premier League table.  Of course, Spurs were also slightly unlucky, but that can’t cover the fact that they were a massive part of their own downfall with some of the worst defensive decisions in the history of football.

Coming into the match there was nothing to suggest such wretched play at the back from Tim Sherwood’s side, who had only allowed two goals in their previous five matches, but their defensive ineptitude was clear for all to see less than thirty-seconds into their trip to Stamford Bridge when Samuel Eto’o was played in on goal in between Tottenham’s high-line, only to wrongly be called back for offside. Mind you, after he had been clobbered by Hugo Lloris. Spurs were exposed at the back once again in the third minute when Younes Kaboul was attracted towards the ball, allowing Eden Hazard to be slipped into the open space behind the defender, where he received a Samuel Eto’o through ball before rounding Hugo Lloris and cutting a shot into the side netting from a tight angle to the right of goal.

However, Spurs’ attacking presence on the counter-attack was not-so-shabby, with Nabil Bentaleb dragging a low effort inches wide of the post from the edge of the box in the thirteenth minute.  Sandro then forced Petr Cech into a decent save to palm the Brazilian’s sliced volley wide of the post, and Kaboul even had a go of his own three minutes into the second half with a bullet header straight at Cech.  Yet it all broke down for Tottenham in absurd fashion.

Chelsea’s goal was perhaps the result of the worst defending from Spurs all season, with Jan Vertonghen slipping in possession of the ball in the back, and in attempt to get it away from the oncoming Andre Schurrle blindly kicked it back towards his own goal.  But of course, the ball went straight to Eto’o, who advanced on goal before slotting a low effort underneath the diving Hugo Lloris into the bottom left corner right before the clock ticked to the fifty-fifth minute of the match. 

The Blues’ next goal, which came five minutes later, was the most debatable of the four as referee Michael Olivier awarded Chelsea a penalty and sent Kaboul off after the center-back made the slightest of contact to bring Eto’o down fifteen yards out.  Hazard tucked the resulting spot-kick home nearly straight down the middle, but the match wasn’t all but over until Demba Ba capitalized on Sandro’s slip, collecting the loose ball and placing a low shot into the back of the net from six yards. Just to put the icing on the cake Ba added a fourth for Chelsea moments prior to time, with the forward pouncing on Kyle Walker’s weak header back to Hugo Lloris and rolling it into the back of the open net. Just more to add to Sherwood’s worries of his defense.
Man of the Match: Demba Ba
Flop of the Match: All Tottenham defenders

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.