Tottenham 1 - 2 Chelsea: Spurs finally beaten in the Premier League

Things were different in 1990. The internet was only just being developed. Yugoslavia was a thing, but the Premier League wasn’t. Tupac was alive, but I wasn’t.

Oh, and Spurs were able to beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the league.

The streak continued on Saturday as Tottenham fell 2-1 and Chelsea moved to the top of the table.

It was an expected result given history, player availability, and recent form, but Spurs gave it a real go considering the circumstances.

Mauricio Pochettino again had to juggle his line-up due to injuries and suspension. Danny Rose was suspended on yellows so that meant Kevin Wimmer at left back for Spurs, somewhere he’d never previously played for the Lilywhites.

Spurs surprised everyone by coming out of the gates quicker than Chelsea. Tottenham looked bright and incisive, something we hadn’t seen in a while. Their press gave Antonio Conte’s team major problems.

Christian Eriksen answered his critics when he tallied his first goal of the season to open the scoring in the 11th minute. At first I’d thought his shot had taken a deflection, but really it had just swerved away from Thibaut Courtois into the net. That’s the technical ability the Dane has.

But the good times were not to be permanent.

The relentless pressing from Pochettino’s team left them noticeably tired towards the end of the first half, and Chelsea capitalized. Hugo Lloris was beaten by a stunning curling effort from Pedro a minute before the half.

Chelsea took the lead soon after the restart and refused to give it back, despite significant pressure from Spurs as the game moved towards the final whistle.

Spurs completely fell asleep on their left/weak side as the Blues advanced down the field to Hugo’s right. Costa got the better of a few players and squared the ball across to an unmarked Victor Moses. Lloris and Jan Vertonghen couldn’t clear the ball off the line and Chelsea took a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.

Poch’s halftime subs made an impact and on another day might’ve pushed us to steal a draw. Harry Winks and Georges-Kevin N’Koudou looked good coming off the bench. N’Koudou impressed to create a few chances down the left with his skill and pace.

But the equalizing goal eluded Spurs, who suffered their first loss of the Premier League season. All-in-all it’s now just one win in the last ten games in all competitions for Tottenham.

There were signs of improvement, but the form certainly still needs to improve. Spurs are still in 5th, but could be as many as four points behind Arsenal in 4th after this weekend.

The good news is that there are winnable games ahead. The next four games in the Premier League for Tottenham are Swansea City, Manchester United, Hull City, and Burnley.

Yes we lost today, but at least we can be happy that this November from Hell is over and done.