Toothless Tottenham were booed as Chelsea won 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium thanks to a first-half goal from Joao Pedro, marking their fifth successive win over their London rivals.
Unfortunately, Spurs, who could have moved up to second place with a win, have recorded the lowest expected goals (0.05xG) of any Premier League team this season, their lowest since Opta began collecting Premier League xG data in the 2012/13 season.
Tottenham’s lack of creativity and brilliance once again proved to be a major problem in the second half, as the home fans showed their frustration throughout as they saw their team fail to get a shot on target.
There were loud boos at the final whistle as Chelsea deepened Spurs’ woes at home as Thomas Frank’s side suffered their 12th defeat in their last 19 league matches at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Sky Sports’ Jamie Redknapp believes it was “one of the worst performances” he has seen from Tottenham.
Chelsea, who have moved into the top four, will feel they should have won by a bigger margin after Joao Pedro’s 34th-minute opener.
The Brazilian had an outstanding player in Moises Caicedo, whom Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher described as a “monster in midfield” and thanked him for ending a 10-game goal drought for club and country when the Ecuadorian won the ball from Mickey van de Ven and teed it up beautifully from Pedro.
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Moises Caicedo won the ball and inside the box Chelsea striker Joao Pedro scored the goal in the Premier League against Spurs.
The goal came after Xavi Simons, replacing Lukas Bergvall, short-circuited Van de Ven in the seventh minute. The £51m signing, who had been linked with a move to Chelsea in the summer, struggled to recover and was humiliated as a substitute in the 73rd minute.
A miserable Spurs side were lucky not to concede a second in stoppage time as Chelsea substitutes Jamie Gittens and Pedro missed bright chances.
However, Enzo Maresca’s team comfortably won four consecutive away games in all competitions and finished fourth in the Premier League, level on points with third-placed Spurs.
Frank defends Van de Ven and Spence after ignoring them on FT
Footage of defenders Van Deven and Jed Spence ignoring Frank’s request for fans to applaud has been published in full on social media.
They walked straight past Dane, who looked at them before noticing the crowd.
Regarding this matter, Frank said at the post-match press conference: “Obviously all the players are frustrated. They want to do well, win and perform well, so I understand that.”
“Of course, I think the difficult part is being consistent through good times and bad. That’s why I visited the fans like I did. It’s more fun when you win, I can tell you that.”
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Watch as Micky van de Ven and Jed Spence disrespect Thomas Frank after Tottenham’s home defeat to Chelsea
Asked if their actions were acceptable, he said: “I understand why you’re asking that question, but I guess it’s one of the minor issues.
“We are giving our all to Micky van de Ven and Jed Spence and I think they have performed very well so far this season.
“Everyone’s frustrated. I don’t think it’s a big issue because we do things differently.”
Maresca: big win in derby
Chesley coach Enzo Maresca told Sky Sports.
“Yes, it was certainly a good performance. Spurs look very good. We need performances like this to win.”
“I think we have to be brave both on and off the ball. Off the ball we were good, but inside we created a lot of chances. I’m very happy for us and for the fans. This is a big derby and we move on.”
About Caicedo’s performance:
“He’s at the top. He’s probably up there with Rodri as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world.
“In England, it’s not like the game ended 1-0. If we had scored one or two more points we would have been more relaxed. But I’m happy with the clean sheet we got against Tottenham.”
Analysis: Caicedo is a beautiful monster
Moises Caicedo strips Pape Matar Sarr of his property
Sky Sports’ Lewis Jones said:
Sometimes this job is a real privilege. It was a real thrill to see Moises Caicedo up close – and I’m sure Tottenham fans will agree. It was a performance that showed everything you want from a world-class midfielder. Tenacious, intelligent, full of quality and able to influence games in the final third. Jamie Redknapp described him as “world class, probably the best of his type in world football”.
It’s hard to argue.
In his early days at Chelsea, the £115m price tag seemed to hang around his neck like a shiny weight, but now we see a player bulldozing opponents at Brighton.
He has something N’Golo Kante-like about him, not only in his engine and energy, but also in his humility. He doesn’t want the spotlight, he wants the ball. And when he gets it, the whole game dances to his tune. Xavi Simmons looked almost frightened at times dribbling close to Chelsea’s enforcer and that was his advantage in the duel.
He has that fear factor now. And that is one of the main reasons why he is the best in the world in his field.
Analysis: Sanchez shows how to stop Spurs
Sky Sports’ Lewis Jones said:
At the moment, beating Tottenham looks easy. If you defend your set pieces properly, you can win. Chelsea, who had conceded the most anticipated set-pieces of the season before this game, stood up and were made to count against Spurs’ set-piece machine, which beat Everton last weekend.
Enzo Maresca’s side did not allow a single shot from set-piece situations, with Roberto Sanchez commanding the area like a king of the skies. Admittedly, Spurs were unusually poor on the ball, but time and time again, the goalkeeper took the pressure off defenders by catching clear high balls and intentionally coming in to punch them. In a season where being able to defend the box under dead-ball pressure is so important, Chelsea took a huge step in the right direction with this resolute defensive display.
Opta stats: Chelsea scare Spurs again
Chelsea have lost just one of their last 18 matches against Tottenham in all competitions (W14 D3) and have won each of their last five matches since losing 2-0 in February 2023. Tottenham have only won 3 of their last 19 Premier League home games (D4 L12), which is the lowest number of home wins of any regular team over this period (since 10 November 2024 – same level as West Ham). Tottenham have lost three consecutive Premier League London derby games at home for the first time since April 2004, with the third loss coming against Chelsea. Only Wolves (four) have made more mistakes leading to opponents’ goals than Tottenham in this season’s Premier League (three, along with Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and Fulham).
