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| Legend |
It was fitting that for Abramovich's landmark game that Chelsea would face fierce rivals, and if stories are to be believed, the club that he first considered buying. All while they are headed up by the man he sacked not once but twice. The narrative was strong. The tactics stronger. A goalless draw felt ill-fitting for both the occasion and actual match itself.
Following the match, Jose Mourinho was quick to come out to give the first word and force Frank Lampard to respond to whatever he said. The sly old fox insisted that while a point was good - his players were 'mad' at not taking all three. And if anyone believes that I've got a nice bridge to sell you. The way Tottenham set up, they very much came for a goalless draw and got just that. He and his players will be content to have executed their game-plan to perfection, keeping Tottenham at the top of the table. And not losing another game to Frank Lampard.
Both managers showed their hands early - they were going to be cautious. No one wanting to commit an error against the other. No one willing to give up bragging rights. Timo Werner did find the back of the net with a fantastic finish. But his efforts were all for nowt as it was ruled out for offside. While Edouard Mendy was forced into a save from Serge Aurier. It was the best chance of the opening 45 minutes, but pragmatism was the real star.
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| Awkward |
Unlike his counterpart, Frank Lampard was not willing to settle for a point - although ultimately it would be all that he would take. Chelsea started the second half on the front foot with Mason Mount coming close to breaking the deadlock. Reece James fired in two of the best crosses you'll ever see but Tammy Abraham narrowly missed out on getting on the end of either of them. It was almost disrespecting the crosses not to have connected with them - they were that good.
Tammy Abraham put in a solid performance. However, he has proven time and again he is not the forward to use when facing a team setting up a low block. It doesn't mean he shouldn't be starting games or getting minutes - but there are some teams that it makes no sense to use him up front. Sunday was one of those times - and not in a hindsight sort of way. Everyone knew just how Jose Mourinho would set up and execute the game. He was never going to stretch Spurs defence enough to find a way through.
With the crosses being played into the box, Olivier Giroud would be the easy solution. The Frenchman should have started. And failing that, he should have been on at the break. Giving him just 11 minutes to find the breakthrough and stop playing in the crosses when he finally did get on was cruel not only to him, but to everyone watching desperately waiting for that goal to come. Of course, he was able to find a great opportunity to score which maybe he could have done better with, but with a bit more time I have no doubt he would have found that goal Chelsea were looking for.
Christian Pulisic made his long awaited return to action - taking inspiration from the aforementioned Giroud in growing out a beard. It doesn't have quite the same effect. But dodgy facial hair aside it was great to see him get some minutes. Hopefully his hamstring won't snap again as he was one of the standout stars of Project Restart, not just for Chelsea but the Premier League as a whole. Again, when he was subbed on, another option to break Spurs down would have been to take Abraham off, move Werner into the central role and Pulisic take his place out wide. Tottenham handed Joe Rodon a Premier League debut and he had a mistake or two in him. It was the perfect chance to really press that backline for a late winner.
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| Like a little ninja |
A lot has been made of Chelsea's defensive record this season - finally for the right reasons. And not to take anything away from the savvy skills of Thiago Silva and his ability to whip up some organisation into the backline. But N'Golo Kante being match fit and in his preferred position has given them a lot more time and space to think about what they're doing - if they need to do anything at all. Mendy is facing half the shots Kepa ever did which is in large part to do with that tiny midfield maestro sweeping up everything in front of the backline. He marshaled Harry Kane out of the match rendering him useless - one of the few players to do it effectively.
Expect some legs to get a rest this Wednesday. With qualification done and dusted, some new faces will get a chance in Champions League while Turbo Timo can recharge ahead of Leeds this weekend. The first match in front of fans since March!
jb x
RESULT: Chelsea 0-0 Tottenham
GOALS: N/A
CHELSEA XI: Mendy, James, Zouma, Silva, Chilwell, Kovacic, Kante, Mount, Ziyech (Havertz 83), Abraham (Giroud 79), Werner (Pulisic 74)
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