With Liverpool given the weekend off and Arsenal and Manchester City on FA Cup duty, Chelsea had the chance to stretch their lead at the top of the Barclay’s Premier League as they hosted Tottenham Hotspur and we had all the action.
As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts on the game. E-mail steven@thescore.ie, tweet @thescore_ie, post a message to our Facebook wall, or leave a comment below.
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Chelsea 4-0 Tottenham
You’re sick of rugby now right? No, of course you’re not but we’ve got you covered anyway if you fancy some football.
First off, here are the teams:
Chelsea: Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry (c), Azpilicueta; Matic, Lampard; Ramires, Hazard, Schurrle; Eto’o.
Tottenham: Lloris; Naughton, Dawson, Kaboul, Vertonghen; Bentaleb, Sandro; Walker, Lennon, Sigurdsson; Adebayor.
Worrying scenes for Spurs fans as Torres has pulled up in the warm-up.
That’s harsh on the Spaniard I suppose but with Tottenham seemingly set up to frustrate Chelsea’s declared XI, it will probably mean a reshuffle for the visitors as they’ll now have to contend with Samuel Eto’o.
As John pointed out in the comments below, it has been a long time since Spurs tasted success at Stamford Bridge. Indeed, they’ve failed to win in 21 attempts, losing 13, drawing eight.
In fact, it’s so long since Tottenham beat Chelsea away, Gary Lineker got the winner over 24 years ago.
And the game is underway with Samuel Eto’o brought down after less than 30 seconds by Hugo Lloris and he looks hurt.
The linesman’s flag had gone up for an offside — which is why Lloris isn’t having an early bath — but the visitors got away with one there as the Chelsea striker looked onside.
Chelsea have their second chance of the game and there’s barely four minutes gone. This time Hazard worked his way around Lloris but was falling over as he shot and his effort went wide.
The Belgian looked like he was clipped by the Spurs keeper too; Lloris definitely riding his luck so far.
11 minutes gone at the Bridge and it’s still 0-0 with the home side very much on top.
Here’s Hazard’s miss. He has to score there doesn’t he? Even if off balance.
Spurs fans now singing ‘shall we sing a song for you?’. With the exception of the Yaya/Kolo Toure one, is there a more annoying chant in football?
There is as it happens, the ‘Who are ya?’ one that has just reverberated around Stamford Bridge.
There’s not a whole lot happening right now. Spurs are doing a good job of keeping possession without really creating much in the way of a clear cut chance.
As I type that Sandro strikes one from the edge of the area that forces Cech into a smart save. Still scoreless though as the corner comes to nothing.
I’m really impressed with how Spurs are set up so far. They’ve taken the sting out of the early Chelsea pressure and are controlling the game through possession. It’s good to see.
Chelsea have a chance now through a Frank Lampard free kick but Matic’s header is tame and trickles wide.
Of course, just as I write about Spurs keeping possession, a wayward pass is picked up by Eto’o.
However, the Chelsea striker fails to make the most of a decent opportunity and his shot goes wide right.
This game started off like a house on fire with two great chances in the opening five minutes but it’s lacking a certain something.
As good as Tottenham are — and it’s good enough that Chelsea have no answer for it at the moment — they don’t look like scoring.
Lots of possession from the visitors, very little penetration.
Yellow card for Lampard is the first of the game.
Interesting stat just brought to us by our resident Spurs expert. The last five times Tottenham have taken the lead against Chelsea in the league, they’ve lost the game.
Maybe they don’t want to score?
Or…maybe not.
And the half time whistle has gone.
Stalemate at the Bridge.
We’ll be right back after the half-time oranges.
Opted for two Bourbon Creams instead of an orange. Tim Sherwood seems happy with that decision:
The second half is under way and Chelsea have made one change, Oscar for Frank Lampard.
Kaboul has the first chance of the second half but his header from a Spurs’ corner is comfortably saved.
Down the other end, Schurrle comes close twice but he can’t quite match the accuracy he showed last week against Fulham.
The second half has started as brightly as the first, hopefully it won’t fade away like the opening period though.
Kyle Naughton and Sandro both pick up bookings in the space of a minute as Chelsea drive forward.
GOAL – ETO’O – 56 mins
Well that was gift-wrapped for Eto’o.
Vertonghen had a nightmare. First he slips and, as he panics to get back to his feet, plays the ball straight to Eto’o and the Chelsea striker makes no mistake.
GOAL – Hazard (p) – 58 mins
A dreadful few minutes for Spurs and they’re now two down.
In truth it didn’t look a penalty as Younes Kaboul was adjudged to have taken Eto’o down in the area but there looked to be little or no contact. To make matters worse, Kaboul is shown a red card.
Hazard makes no mistake from the spot though and Chelsea look to have secured all three points.
Looking at the penalty incident again, you can see why it was given — looks a lot worse from where referee Michael Oliver is standing — but it’s still very harsh on the visitors.
Spurs’ afternoon goes from bad to worse as Michael Dawson limps off.
Samuel Eto’o goes off to a standing ovation to be replaced by Demba Ba. Having played such a big part in tonight’s two big talking points, the striker will be happy with his night’s work.
Whether or not Spurs’ fans will be happy with it, is a completely different matter.
Nine minutes to go and it looks like Chelsea will go seven points clear. The league’s far from over, especially as Manchester City have three games in hand, but points on the board are so valuable at this stage of the season.
In case you missed it:
GOAL – BA – 88 mins
Spurs have been the masters of their own downfall this evening.
This time Sandro slips in the six-yard box, leaving Demba Ba with the easiest of chances and it’s game, set and match.
GOAL – BA – 90 mins
I repeat, Spurs have been the masters of their own downfall this evening.
This time Kyle Walker heads the ball straight to Ba under no pressure and he has his second goal in 76 seconds.
The final whistle has gone and it was calamitous stuff from Spurs that ultimately cost them.
For large periods of the first half they looked in complete control without ever threatening.
Mistakes from Spurs in the second gifted Chelsea their first, third and fourth goals while a refereeing mistake handed them their second. Chelsea though, were the more adventurous of the two sides so probably deserve the three points.
The wait for a win at the Bridge for Spurs goes on.
And that’s it from me. As usual, thanks for joining in.
