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MOTD: Tottenham Hotspur 5-3 Chelsea

By on January 1, 2015

Jose Mourinho’s face bore a small wry smile throughout most of the second half, whenever the outcome of the match looked all but confirmed, though that attitude wavered ever so slightly on occasion. That same smile could be seen on his face in his tunnel interviews directly after the match. Mourinho always seems to be plotting his next move, one step ahead of the rest, and this leaves you with the same impression? What possibly could keep him going like that after a match like this? Mourinho may be The Special One, but this was a special match. Chelsea had conceded four, and went on to allow five, for the first time under Mourinho. It was only the second time in his career the Portuguese manager has allowed five goals in a single match (the other a famous 5-0 defeat in el Clasico), and the first time this season that Chelsea’s Premier League title campaign looked ever so slightly fragile.

Mourinho was not in the mood for a press conference. He deflected, half-answered, and completely ignored other questions. He didn’t inherently blame himself, his team, or the officials for their loss. If anything, that was the one tell-tale sign he was thrown a curve ball. In fact, neither himself, his team, or the officials can be completely blamed for Chelsea’s loss. For the most part, they were simply outplayed by Tottenham Hotspur, but Mourinho still couldn’t say just that without a backlash. Chelsea are supposed to be, and have been, the best side in the Premier League this season, while Tottenham found themselves mid-table at Christmas. That’s what makes this match so special, even more so than any match in which Chelsea trail 5-2 at one point and lose 5-3. Out of forty-five previous meetings with Chelsea in the Premier League, Tottenham had only won three. Even history was against them.

And contrary to the buzz going around, it wasn’t a one-man show. Harry Kane was certainly the jewel in the Spurs’ crown, in a figurative sense as well as tactically in Tottenham’s 4-3-2-1 formation, but without strong performances from Nacer Chadli, Christian Eriksen, Hugo Lloris, and Danny Rose as well, Chelsea could easily have won. Chelsea started with the same consistent lineup they have for the majority of the season, and consistently undefeatable at that, yet Tottenham blew them off the pitch. Federico Fazio, as well, everybody played well for Tottenham.

At the start, Tottenham’s high tempo was obvious. Later in the match, it was less so but their lightning-quick break and midfield pressure told the story. They neither kept, nor even seemed to want possession for most of the match (in fact, Chelsea’s second came from a break after Tottenham gave away the ball while circulating around the back); rather Spurs beat Chelsea at their own game on the counter. Kane and Chadli terrorized Chelsea’s back line, playing a direct hand in all of Spurs’ goals, combining for two of them. Every time Tottenham went forward they looked like they would score. Tottenham held less possession and the same number of shots on target, but most importantly, placed more of them into the back of the net.

Chelsea had been given a tough opening by Tottenham, but everything was going smooth when Eden Hazard jinxed his way into the Spurs box down the right, saw his low effort across goal rebound back into the box, and Diego Costa tapping home Oscar’s follow-up from point-blank range. At that point, everything before was all but useless – Chelsea had the lead, and usually take care of it from there. For the ten minutes prior, Diego Costa looked the most threatening he did all match, and Oscar also poked a low shot just wide.

Tottenham’s pressure slightly subsided, especially as Ryan Mason came off due to injury, yet that is when Kane reignited them. After muscling off two defenders, Kane found space for a shot twenty-five yards out and sliced a low effort, with Thibaut Courtois slightly blind-sighted, back across goal into the bottom left corner of the net. Then right on the brink of the half, Eriksen broke free in the middle and found Chadli with a reverse pass. Chadli curled shot through Courtois’ legs, only to see the ball bounce off of the base of the left hand-post. However, Danny Rose was there to follow up and finished Tottenham’s incredible turnaround. And only moments later the match got even better for Spurs, as Gary Cahill found himself tripping Kane, who was one step ahead of him breaking into the box. The penalty was called, and Andros Townsend buried it into the bottom right corner.

On the other side of the half Mourinho gave Fabregas license to roam forward, yet on the break Kane pounced again. Chadli fed him the ball from the left, and on the turn Kane tucked a low finish across goal past Courtois. Chelsea gave the match another twist as Hazard finished off a deadly break from a one-two with Fabregas, only for Tottenham to go three ahead again as Kane laid it off for Chadli this time fifteen yards out, and the latter saw his deflected finish fall into the bottom right corner. A late tap-in from Branislav Ivanovic was hardly enough for Chelsea to even mount a comeback. Yet now, it is ever so important for The Blues that Mourinho play his cards right and Chelsea rebound quickly, now tied with Manchester City at the top of the Premier League in every regard except alphabetical order.
Man of the Match: Harry Kane

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.