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Chelsea claimed an impressive 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in a crucial London derby away from home. Jorginho's penalty helped the cause for Thomas Tuchel, who has now collected seven points from his first three games.
Chelsea absolutely bossed the initial stages of the game. They finished the first-half on a strong note courtesy of the penalty. However, the nature of the home side's purpose and intent must've left Tottenham Hotspur feeling lucky because they could have been two or three goals down if Chelsea brought more zip into their play.
Tottenham Hotspur did come out with a more positive intent in the next half, but could not muster any clear-cut opportunities. Heung-Min Son and Carlos Vinicius barely received any service.
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Chelsea have now moved to 36 points, three ahead of Tottenham Hotspur. They are now only four points off fourth-placed Liverpool.
Without further delay then, we bring you the major talking points from Chelsea's telling victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
#1 Jorginho converts Chelsea's early possession with a goal
As envisaged widely, it was all Chelsea early on in the London derby. Jose Mourinho set his side up from a counter-attacking perspective, and barring one attack from Tanguy Ndombele and Heung-Min Son, there was nothing that troubled the Blues.
Chelsea dominated possession, with Cesar Azpilicueta, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Reece James circulating possession and passes at will.
It was that very combination that threatened at goal, as skipper Azpilicueta played an exquisite pass to the path of Timo Werner. The German turned, and was tapped by a lazy challenge from Eric Dier.
Referee Andre Marriner had no option but to point to the spot. Jorginho went away with his hop-skip-jump style and instead put his laces through it, leaving Hugo Lloris with no chance.
#2 Chelsea's right-hand side cause all sort of problems for Tottenham Hotspur
Chelsea were all over Tottenham Hotspur in the opening exchanges of the game. Although they had the mobility of Mason Mount and Werner up front, it was the trio of Azpilicueta, James and Hudson-Odoi that broke free every time they linked up play.
Azpilicueta enjoyed the space created by how further forward Chelsea were playing, while James added width to the attack. Hudson-Odoi's flair and positional brilliance ensured the extra space in key areas.
They exchanged quick passes, enjoyed overlaps and more often than not, outnumbered the Spurs defenders down that right-hand side.
One key tactical unlock Chelsea engineered time and time again was the demanding unbending of Dier from his natural position. He was forced to draw out of his narrow position as centre-half, which led to the penalty as well as space inside the six-yard area for Timo Werner at times.
Also read: Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel gives reason behind playing Callum Hudson-Odoi as a wing-back
#3 Spurs' come out in packs after half-time
Mourinho's half-time team talk inspired Tottenham to play 20 metres ahead of what they were in the opening 45 minutes.
They came out all guns blazing following the break, with the full-backs playing with much more freedom. Ben Davies almost played as a wide winger when Spurs darted forward, urging Chelsea to play around their press and work harder off the ball.
Spurs further added much-needed value to their negligible pressing in the first 45, which also handed the Blues a chance to breakaway through the middle.
It did result in a threatening counter-attack just around the hour mark, where Mount ran the charge and played Werner in. Had Aurier not lunged forward to tackle in the last moment, the latter would have been through.
#4 Chelsea's midfield outclassed their counterparts
Chelsea's midfield summarised the game with their creativity, defensive aptness, and overall control.
The duo of Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho, supported by the wide back three, covered every blade of grass in the 90 minutes. They quickly transitioned from defense to attack as soon as one of them picked up the ball.
Jorginho's technical skill and spacial sense allowed Chelsea to create space, and Kovacic to run beyond. Not to mention, Kovacic also tore through the Spurs midfield many a time, also almost scoring after weaving past the white shirts in the second-half.
While Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg barked orders and tried to gel the play, his partners clearly were outwitted by the Chelsea midfielders.
#5 Mason Mount is a special footballer in any system
There were various doubts over Mason Mount's role in the team following Frank Lampard's dismissal. The England international donned the Chelsea captain armband in his side's win over Luton Town, but a spot on the bench in Tuchel's first game in change against Wolves created room for such discussions.
Mount put all those doubts to bed with his performances against Burnley and Spurs.
In what was a well-deserved man-of-the-match display, Mount portrayed technical brilliance on his half-turns and got into serious spaces where he could attack.
More so, he turned Chelsea's defense to attack with jinking runs. Mount's bravery, twisting and turning and creativity allowed the Blues to make runs beyond the Spurs back line.
