Tottenham finished with nine men and suffered their first Premier League defeat under Ange Postecoglou, at the hands of former boss Mauricio Pochettino, as Chelsea dance out of north London with a 4-1 victory on Monday.
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Postecoglou’s men were the last remaining unbeaten side in the Premier League after Arsenal were also beaten in matchweek 11, by Newcastle on Saturday. Tottenham (26 points) sat top of the Premier League table heading into the weekend, but now find themselves second to defending champions Manchester City (27). Chelsea, meanwhile, are up to 10th thanks to the victory, now nine points off 4th-place Arsenal.
Dejan Kulusevski gave Tottenham an early lead amid of a scintillating start for Ange Postecoglou’s side. James Maddison picked out Yves Bissouma with a brilliant ball from inside his own half, and Bissouma found found Kulusevski in acres of space down the right. His shot came off Levi Colwill and rolled into the back of the net as Robert Sanchez froze in place.
Chaos takes over
Eventually, Pochettino’s new club found their footing, even if they had to overcome the video assistant referee’s decisions just as much as they did their opponents. Raheem Sterling lifted the ball over Guglielmo Vicario to equalize in the 22nd minute, but the goal was take off the board after video review revealed a handball by Sterling. Seven minutes later, Moises Caicedo hit a low stinger through traffic that found the back of the net, but that, too, was subject to a lengthy review process.
After a few minutes, the goal was rescinded, but Tottenham defender Cristian Romero was shown a red card for a challenge on Argentina teammate Enzo Fernandez, which occurred just before Caicedo’s strike, and Chelsea were awarded a penalty for the foul occurring inside the penalty area. Cole Palmer pinged the ensuing spot kick off the inside of the post for a deserved 1-1 scoreline at halftime.
Small margins, VAR dominance, continues
Spurs nearly went 2-0 up just before the red card/penalty incident, but Heung-min Son was inches offside when Brennan Johnson found him with a cross into the box at the other end.
The second half was just as feisty and frantic as the first, and it wasn’t long before Tottenham were down to nine men. Destiny Udogie managed to avoid a red card for a physical challenge in the first half, but the 20-year-old Italian parlayed that yellow card into a sending-off following another unwise tackle in the 55th minute.
It was virtually all Chelsea from that point forward, and though they found it quite frustrating for a time, the inevitable outcome finally arrived in the 75th minute. Sterling found Jackson with a simple ball in behind, and the Senegalese striker slotted home for his first of three.
Jackson scored twice more, in nearly identical fashion to his first, as Spurs continued to chase a lifeline. He made it 3-1 in the 93rd and 4-1 in the 96th to record his first hat trick for Chelsea.
What’s next?
For their final fixture before the November international break commences, Tottenham will head to the West Midlands to take on Wolves at Molineux Stadium on Saturday (7:30 am ET). Chelsea will welcome three-time defending champions Manchester City to Stamford Bridge on Sunday (11:30 am ET).
Player ratings - Tottenham vs Chelsea
Tottenham vs Chelsea live updates! - By Joe Prince-Wright at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Tottenham vs Chelsea score: 1-4
Goalscorers: Kulusevski 6', Palmer 35', Jackson 75', 90'+3, 90'+6
Red cards: Romero 35', Udogie 55'
GOALLL! Tottenham 1-4 Chelsea - Jackson (hat trick)
Same story, different minute, and Nicolas Jackson has his first hat trick for Chelsea.
GOALLL! Tottenham 1-3 Chelsea - Jackson (again)
It was inevitable that Spurs would be over-exposed at the back as they chased an equalizer. Game over.
SAVE! Robert Sanchez denies Heung-min Son
After he was played in, Son wriggles free and his low scuffed shot looks like it is heading, but Sanchez saves down low. 94th minute, and Spurs were so close to making it 2-2. Again.
HOW!? Bentancur should make it 2-2
Oh no. Rodrigo Bentancur gets it all wrong at the back post as he can’t figure out whether to head or volley a cross at the back post and he puts it wide from two yards out. Tottenham, against all odds, should be level.
NO GOALLL! Eric Dier denied by the offside flag
What a finish from Eric Dier... but he’s just offside. So close to an equalizer for Tottenham. This is nuts.
GOALLL! Tottenham 1-2 Chelsea - Jackson
Chelsea take the lead against 9-man Tottenham. Raheem Sterling beats the offside trap and squares for Jackson to slot home. Finally Chelsea get it right.
Vicario is having himself a game as Spurs stand tall
Incredible from Vicario and Tottenham. Chelsea clean through, again, but Cucurella is denied by Vicario with Porro back helping. Skipp then clears. Before that Hojbjerg somehow cleared Jackson’s header off the line. Huge roars in the stadium. Vicario’s name sung loud and proud by the THFC fans here. Wow. What a display from the Spurs goalkeeper.
So poor from Chelsea
So many times Chelsea have had chances to slot someone in but they keep overhitting the ball. They have to do better. It is really poor from them. They are panicking.
RED CARD! Tottenham are down to nine as Udogie has been sent off
A second yellow for Udogie, who lunged in on Sterling. Tottenham will play the final 35 minutes plus stoppage time with nine players. This is incredible. Ange can’t believe it.
We are off and running for the second half
One half time sub and Cucurella is on for Colwill at left back for Chelsea. Pretty smart from Poch as Colwill was on a yellow and Spurs were targeting him.
HALF TIME: Tottenham 1-1 Chelsea
After 12 minutes of stoppage time, that wild half comes to a close. That was one of the craziest first halves of a game I can remember. It went pure Tottenham vs Chelsea. In the nuttiest way possible.
Van de Ven and Maddison off
This is crazy. Micky van de Ven has gone down with a hamstring injury. Such a shame for Tottenham. VDV was having an incredible season. Tottenham have lost both starting center backs in the space of 10 minutes. Royal and Hojbjerg coming on. James Maddison taken off too, as he went down with an ankle knock. He looked fine to carry on by Ange wasn’t having it.
NO GOALLL! Chelsea thought they had taken the lead
Jackson has the ball in the net but Sterling was offside in the build up before he crossed. So. Much. Drama.
GOALLL! Tottenham 1-1 Chelsea - Cole Palmer - It is chaos here. Absolute chaos.
Romero has a kick at Colwill off the ball but gets away with it. Then all hell breaks loose.
Cristian Romero with a horrible tackle on Enzo Fernandez in the penalty box, then ball breaks to Caicedo who smashes in a low shot which looks to have made it 1-1... but it is ruled out for offside on Jackson.
But we have a penalty kick and red card after VAR review on Romero’s tackle on Fernandez. And rightly so. Horrendous challenge. Cole Palmer smashes the penalty kick to Vicario’s left and and he gets a hand to tip it onto the post but it flies into the far corner of the net. 1-1. Tottenham down to 10 men. That was one of the craziest spells of play ever in the Premier League. Ever.
NO GOAL! Raheem Sterling thought he had made it 1-1...
The ball breaks to Sterling on the left and he bundles his way through and finishes after the ball bounced off Porro. However, a VAR check shows that the ball clearly hit Sterling’s arm before he finished. It was unlucky as the ball was hit against his arm from close range but that is handball.
NO GOAL! Son thought he had made it 2-0...
Another brilliant ball out wide scythes through Chelsea and Son finishes Johnson’s cross... but he’s just offside. VAR has a look but he’s off. So close to a second.
SAVEEE! Vicario with a brilliant stop to deny Jackson
After Porro loses the ball, Chelsea are in through Sterling who finds Jackson. The Chelsea striker turns brilliantly and shots across Vicario but the Italian goalkeeper does superbly to push the effort wide. What a stop from Spurs’ goalkeeper who has been outstanding so far this season.
GOALLLL! Tottenham 1-0 Chelsea - Dejan Kulusevski
Spurs are on fire and Maddison’s brilliant forward ball opens up Chelsea. Kulusevski cuts inside and his shot deflects off Colwill and in. Cue pandemonium among the home fans.
We are off and running!
It is very loud here and we are underway. Expectation is in the air among the home fans, while Chelsea’s fans are maybe here more in hope than optimism. But this is derby day. Anything can, and has, happened between these two in the past.
Pre-game chat
Watching the warm ups closely, Chelsea are working a lot on finishing. For what it’s worth, Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling have looked very sharp.
The team news sees Spurs back to full strength with Udogie fit at left back. Chelsea have Reece James back to start which is huge. Poch has gone all out attack with Jackson, Palmer and Sterling in attack.
Hello and welcome to north London on a beautiful night for a massive London derby! There is a nip in the air and a real sense of optimism among the home fans. Tottenham’s fans are starting to believe something special is building and the in-stadium DJ is cranking through the dance tunes as we get closer to kick off. Can Mauricio Pochettino, on his first return to Tottenham, be the villain and end Spurs’ unbeaten start to the season?
😍 Beautiful night here in Tottenham for a big London derby!
— Joe Prince-Wright (@JPW_NBCSports) November 6, 2023
How to watch Tottenham v Chelsea live + live updates, analysis, videos & much more ➡️ https://t.co/TVTcnNX7zI #THFC #CFC pic.twitter.com/dtIzO9K1jB
How to watch Tottenham vs Chelsea live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 3pm ET (Monday, Nov. 5)
TV Channel: Peacock
Online: Stream via Peacock Premium
Tottenham starting lineup
Vicario — Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie — Bissouma, Sarr, Maddison — Kulusevski, Son, Johnson
Chelsea starting lineup
Sanchez — James, Thiago Silva, Disasi, Colwill — Enzo, Callagher, Caicedo, Palmer — Sterling, Jackson
Focus on Tottenham
Tottenham’s great start to the season has been underlined by the fluidity of their attacking unit and their full backs pushing on high to create overloads in the opposition half. It is very brave and is working a treat because the midfield duo of Bissouma and Sarr, plus the center back duo of Romero and Van de Ven have been so solid. Son, Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski have also dovetailed majestically in attack. Injuries are starting to cause a few issues, with left backs Destiny Udogie and Ben Davies both struggling to be fit for this one. Ivan Perisic, Ryan Sessegnon and Manor Solomon remain out.
Tottenham on track for the title?
The only time Tottenham have ever started a season better than this in their history was the 1960-61 campaign, when they won all of their opening 10 games. Spurs went on to win the league title that season and that is the last time they were crowned Champions of England. It’s still early days but this start to the season, coupled with no European action, has provided Tottenham with an incredible opportunity. Can they keep it going?
Focus on Chelsea
Chelsea have to find a combination that works in attack and the duo of Nicolas Jackson and Raheem Sterling have done so many good things until they get into the final third then finishing has become a big issue. Pochettino will perhaps play Cole Palmer as a false nine once again with Conor Gallagher (both have been excellent this season) tasked with floating into pockets of space and creating chances from central areas. Injuries have been a huge problem ever since Pochettino arrived and Wesley Fofana, Christopher Nkunku, Ben Chilwell, Romeo Lavia, Carney Chukwuemeka and Trevoh Chalobah all remain out. Armando Broja and Enzo Fernandez are battling to be fit for this game and Mykhailo Mudryk is back in full training.
Chelsea chase Champions League
The Blues are currently 12 points off the top four and 10 points off fifth place, as the latter could end up sealing you a Champions League spot with the revamp of the tournament to launch for next season. Pochettino’s main aim this season is to get Chelsea back in Europe’s elite club competition and if they win at Tottenham, all of a sudden that gap is closed and we know they have plenty of talented players set to return from injury soon.
