Enzo Fernandez headed home Cole Palmer’s cross five minutes into the second half to give Chelsea a massively important 1-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on Thursday.
WATCH – Chelsea vs Spurs full match replay
The result sends Chelsea (52 points) back up to 4th in the Premier League table, once again two points clear in the UEFA Champions League chase, with eight games left to play. Spurs (34 points), meanwhile, remain 14th after suffering their 16th defeat in 30 league games this season.
Chelsea nearly scored inside the opening 60 seconds as Micky van de Ven’s clearance ricocheted off Nicolas Jackson’s shin and hit the post, and again just seconds before halftime if not for Guglielmo Vicario’s soaring save to deny Jadon Sancho. By the time Fernandez put Chelsea ahead and Palmer registered his first goal involvement in 10 games (all competitions), Spurs had attempted two shots for a grand total of 0.12 xG. By the time Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca made wide-sweeping substitutions to lock the game up defensively around 80 minutes, Spurs were up to 0.22 on three attempts.
Robert Sanchez was called into action and made a fantastic stop to deny Heung-min Son’s sliding effort — Spurs’ only clear-cut chance in the game — in the 89th minute. Both sides had a goal ruled out by video review — Chelsea first, which would have put the game well beyond reach in the 56th — and tempers flared on more than one occasion, as they tend to do when these sides meet, but the result itself was hardly ever in doubt from the opening whistle.
What’s (not) the matter with Tottenham Hotspur?
Reading between the lines, it seems quite clear that Postecoglou will be fired this summer (or if/when Spurs are knocked out of the Europa League), yet Thursday’s defeat raised more concerns than who is in charge and what the tactics are. (Just when you think it can’t get any worse: If this was indeed what happened here, none of the below matters. Well, it does, but not in terms of his employment.) Aside from Arsenal, there is no side that Spurs supporters want to beat more than Chelsea, yet you couldn’t see it in the actions of a single player wearing white. Where was the fight? Where was the desire? Where was a shred of desperation? Where was anything besides feeble acceptance? The team and club is completely devoid of leaders at the moment, whether it be loud, in-your-face rah-rah, or the silent, lead-by-example type — perhaps the most underrated part of Harry Kane’s departure nearly two years ago — and that becomes clearer with each passing defeat that trudges down the same well-worn path 90 painful minutes at a time.
Player ratings - Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur
What’s next?
- Brentford vs Chelsea — Sunday, 9 am ET
- Tottenham Hotspur vs Southampton — Sunday, 9 am ET
Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur live updates - by Andy Edwards
Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur final score: 1-0
Goalscorers: Enzo Fernandez (50')
NO GOAL! Sarr scores from distance but clearly fouls Caicedo right before (69')
Pape Matar Sarr thought he had pulled Spurs level, but video review showed a clear foul by the Senegalese midfielder as he put his studs through the back/side of Caicedo’s knee to win the ball just beforehand.
OFFSIDE! Caicedo scores a screamer but Colwill narrowly offside (56')
Moises Caicedo struck the ball brilliantly at a difficult height and somehow put it through a sea of bodies to seemingly put Chelsea 2-0 ahead and home free, but some part of Levi Colwill’s body was dangling in an offside position on the preceding ball in.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Spurs: Fernandez heads home Palmer’s cross (50')
SAVE! Vicario goes full stretch to deny Sancho (44')
Guglielmo Vicario with one of the best reaction saves you'll see ALL SEASON. 🙅♂️
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) April 3, 2025
📺 Peacock | #CHETOT pic.twitter.com/2eC58rPwWr
Neither side has had a real chance since the pinball situation in the 2nd minute, and again it’s Chelsea threatening as the ball fell to Jadon Sancho at the back post from a long diagonal over the top. Sancho did well to corral it, turn and fire quickly, but Vicario did even better to soar and stretch and make a fingertip save over the bar.
POST! Van de Ven’s clearance hits Jackson and then the post (1')
Chelsea’s first foray forward was nothing more than a long ball over the top from Trevoh Chalobah, but Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero were both caught out by Nicolas Jackson’s run, and it took both of them (plus Guglielmo Vicario) to (barely) clear the danger.
Chelsea starting lineup
Sanchez - Gusto, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella - Caicedo, Fernandez, Palmer - Neto, Sancho, Jackson
Tottenham Hotspur starting lineup
Vicario - Spence, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie - Bergvall, Bentancur, Maddison - Odobert, Son, Solanke
How to watch Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 3pm ET Thursday
Venue: Stamford Bridge — West London
TV Channel: Peacock
Streaming: Stream live on Peacock
The two sides staged an engaging seven-goal thriller on Dec. 8, as Chelsea erased a 2-nil halftime lead with a four-goal second half that included a pair of Cole Palmer penalties. Both teams have seen better days, with once title-fighting Chelsea in fourth place and without a win over a current top-half side since toppling Aston Villa on December 1 in the middle of a five-match Premier League winning streak.
For Postecoglou, Spurs have lost all the good vibes from a three-match winning streak that coincided with a return of several long-injured players. They’ve taken just one point from their last nine in the Premier League and have only one win in five matches across all competitions — a home defeat of AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League Round of 16.
Chelsea team news, focus
OUT: Nicolas Jackson (thigh), Mykhailo Mudryk (suspension), Omari Kellyman (hamstring - out for season) | QUESTIONABLE: Cole Palmer (thigh), Noni Madueke (thigh), Marc Guiu (groin)
Tottenham Hotspur team news, focus
OUT: Dejan Kulusevski (foot), Richarlison (lower leg), Radu Dragusin (torn ACL - out for season), Kevin Danso (hamstring) | QUESTIONABLE: Lucas Bergvall (illness)
Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur prediction
Predicting Spurs outcomes is an infuriating endeavor, as Postecoglou’s men are capable of the sublime and the sleepy. Chelsea are still missing some key attacking pieces with a few others not at 100 percent. Dejan Kulusevski’s absence swings our prediction, and we’ll tip the Blues for three points at home. Chelsea 2-1 Spurs.
