The two top sides fighting it out for top honours in the highest tier of the domestic league faced off against each other at Wembley on Saturday evening in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
In what was an end-to-end game and an entertaining watch, Chelsea took the lead thrice, gave it away twice and somehow managed to keep it all together when it mattered most, to qualify for the final. They will face one of Arsenal or Manchester City depending on the outcome of the other semi-final slated for Sunday.
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Five minutes into the game, the Blues camp was sent into early celebratory mode courtesy a Willian goal. It was short-lived though, as Harry Kane equalised a few minutes after. Willian scored a penalty to restore the lead but Dele Alli restored parity early in the second half.
Also read: Twitter explodes as Chelsea knock Tottenham Hotspur out of FA Cup
In the last half an hour, Eden Hazard came off the bench to score Chelsea’s third goal of the day and set up Nemanja Matic for the fourth to put the game to bed and out of reach of the Lilywhites.
In this piece, we take a look at the five major points from the game.
#5 Tactics misfire as defensive indiscipline proves costly for Spurs
Mauricio Pochettino’s men thoroughly negated Chelsea’s game plan during the Blues’ visit to White Hart Lane during their Premier League clash at the turn of the year. Not only did they win the game convincingly but also kept a clean sheet against one of the most potent attacking sides. It was a tactical master-class by the Argentine that exposed the gaps in the Blues’ style and also proved that Conte’s side were far from infallible.
At Wembley, Pochettino once again settled for 3 at the back against Chelsea to pack his midfield and retain his attacking trio. However, Conte had included Michy Batshuayi and Willian in the starting line-up at the expense of Diego Costa and Eden Hazard and his gamble certainly paid off.
Michy’s sublime ball to Pedro, which the Spaniard took in his stride, caught Spurs unawares just five minutes in, as a result of which Toby Alderweireld had to make a last-ditch tackle. The Belgian took out Pedro in a shoddy attempt to save an effort on goal but the resulting free kick from Willian gave Chelsea a precious lead.
With the scores tied at 1-1, Heung-Min Son went to ground in the box and appeared to catch Victor Moses’ leg in the clumsiest of circumstances, conceding a penalty.
Past the hour mark, Eric Dier looked on as Hazard scored from a tight angle; the Englishman did not want any part in deflecting it into his own net and thereby shied away, without as much as attempting to turn the ball away.
While organisation and discipline throughout the team were pivotal to Spurs bringing an end to Chelsea’s winning run in the league, the absence of the same tonight proved to be a gift to the Blues.
#4 Willian brace ensures Chelsea’s grip on the game
Spurs had most of the ball and looked the likelier of the two teams to score right from the start. However, Chelsea managed to keep them at bay and also created problems with their interceptions and counterattacks.
Michy, Pedro and Willian combined well for Chelsea in attack with Pedro’s pace especially proving to be a problem for the Spurs backline. The Spaniard’s run was illegally checked by Alderweireld, who was cautioned just minutes into the game.
Willian stood over the resulting free kick; he took it on the whistle and sent a stupendously bent shot that shook the insides of the net.
Post Harry Kane’s equaliser, Moses won a penalty for Chelsea and once again, Willian was on it.
He made the run and held off for a few milliseconds before thumping the shot into the net, sending Hugo Lloris the wrong way. It gave the lead back to Chelsea and also vital momentum before half-time as Spurs were left chasing the game again.
The Brazilian looked disappointed to come off past the hour mark but it was his brace that kept Chelsea in the hunt. The two crucial goals from set pieces also vindicated Conte’s decision to start him ahead of the well-oiled ammunitions that are Costa and Hazard.
#3 Poor refereeing on display...again!
There was more than one cause for complaint with respect to officiating, with referee Martin Atkinson not doing himself any favours with either set of fans with some absurd calls (or the lack of it).
With the game evenly poised in the first half, Hugo Lloris should have been sent off for handling the ball outside of his area. The Spurs keeper came running outside the box but lost control of the ball while on the ground. He was lucky enough to play on though, as the referee and assistant both seemed to miss an obvious (and intentional) error from the Frenchman.
The game was still one goal apiece when Chelsea got a penalty for Son’s tackle on Moses. Replays showed that the Chelsea wingback had dived before contact was made, making the most of the situation. It obviously did not help Son’s cause that he had gone to ground and made an attempt to play the ball, making it look like he was disrupting Moses’ run.
Earlier, Dele Alli could (and should) have been booked for a rash challenge on Luiz. The Brazilian defender lay on the ground after making a tackle and the Spurs youngster appeared to shorten his stride and landed his studs on Luiz’s ankle.
These were the most glaring of mistakes by referee Atkinson, who also dished out free kicks and cards at will and in no consistent fashion for fouls committed.
#2 Christian Eriksen shines but Spurs fail to capitalise on dominance
Eriksen shone for Spurs on the night, creating both of his team’s goals and constantly being a pain for Chelsea to deal with. The Blues defence found it challenging to deal with his movement, crossing, positioning as well as the final ball.
The first equaliser for Spurs courtesy Kane’s goal was scored with the deftest of touches with the head and came off Eriksen’s cross into the box.
At 2-1 and early in the second half, the Spurs midfielder sent the most inviting of crosses into Dele Alli’s path and the youngster’s job was as simple as nudging it in. This assist came from near the halfway line - the sheer vision of it was impeccable.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men started brightly and had most of the possession; statistics at the end of the match corroborated it, with the Blues having just 37% of the ball on average. However, it is not having the ball but what you actually do with it that counts.
Spurs were left chasing the game thrice; although they came back the first two times, the third proved too much for them. Alli, Victor Wanyama, Eriksen all had chances to score and seize the initiative after toying with Chelsea’s backline but their profligacy came back to bite them.
It must also be mentioned that Luiz looked rock-solid for a majority of the game and Nathan Ake covered superbly for the absent Gary Cahill.
#1 Blistering Hazard cameo keeps Chelsea on course for the double
The Belgian tornado was on the pitch for less than half an hour but the impact he had on the game was commendable. To say he singlehandedly won it for Chelsea would be extremely unfair to Willian and the others but to say that his cameo stole the show is not an understatement by any means.
Hazard ran circles around the Spurs defence – one of the most organised and well-drilled defensive units in the league – and scored the winning goal, before setting up another to deliver a sucker punch to Pochettino’s charges.
His vision, pace, movement and ability to create chances out of nothing are evidence of the class and quality of the player. From a corner which came to nothing, the diminutive number 10 stole the ball and controlled it well before lashing it in with his weaker foot through a host of bodies in white from a fairly difficult angle.
While this goal put Spurs on the back foot, he was adamant that there be no scope for another fight-back from Pochettino’s side. He was fresh coming off the bench and made the most of it by retaining possession and creating chances for his teammates.
One such account resulted in him dribbling the ball out of tight spaces and setting it up for Matic, who scored a screamer. It was the final blow to Spurs and a genius little Belgian had made it all comfortably possible with his presence for less than a third of the game.
It seems unthinkable now that he was written off after last season’s disastrous performances – and almost sold! Chelsea would do well to give this guy what he asks and keep him for good – this is one for the long haul.
