Chelsea and Tottenham provided a feisty clash at Stamford Bridge and it made for superb viewing. The London derby was spiky, had four goals and two red cards but that only begins to tell the story.
Kalidou Koulibaly provided a moment of genuine brilliance with his stunning volley past the helpless Hugo Lloris in goal. It is not what the Blues bought him for – he is there to help keep them out of the other end but it will be a nice little bonus if the centre back pops up with more goals like that. Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar would have been delighted to have scored that one. Granted, it was atrocious marking from Tottenham. They left the man-mountain all alone and he made them pay with a thunderous shot. Lloris didn’t even move.
Second best
Chelsea were in command of this Premier League clash for large parts and Tottenham manager Antonio Conte looked like a man with plenty to ponder in his technical area. Spurs were second best for large periods but his intense tactical conversation with Harry Kane during the drinks break in the second half had the desired effect. They drew level thanks to Pierre-Emile Hjolberg only for Thomas Tuchel’s men to sweep up field to regain the advantage when Reece James finished a fine move.
But deep into injury time Spurs grabbed an equalizer through talisman Harry Kane.
Sure, they did not see much of the ball for 90 minutes and they were left chasing shadows for most of it. Chelsea overworked them out of possession and had far more intensity from the first minute until the last. But in the end the spoils were shared - whether that was the right result or not.
Title charge
Conte spent a whopping £600 million at Chelsea and Inter Milan combined and won the league with both. Now his Spurs side have been tipped for a title charge this season and it is clear the Italian has added some steel and determination to the team. They do not know when they are beaten and that is usually signs of champions. Chelsea too will be right up there come the end of the season.
At the final whistle Tuchel, 48, and Conte, 53, clashed for a second time for acting like 5 year olds and were both shown red cards. Players and coaches from both sides spilt onto the pitch in an attempt to separate the two. They were amazing scenes and it was the perfect way for this aggressive clash to end.
