Tottenham Beat Chelsea 2-0 After Palmer Is Sent Off
Spurs won at Stamford Bridge for the first time since 2018 after a Mike Penders own goal, a Cole Palmer red card and a late goal by Mathys Tel.
Tottenham beat Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, their first win there since 2018, after a goalkeeping error gave them the lead and Cole Palmer was sent off.
It was Chelsea's first home defeat of the season. Spurs gained only their second away win in 35 Premier League meetings with Chelsea (11 draws, 22 defeats), and their first since April 2018, when they won 3-1. They also kept a clean sheet at Stamford Bridge in all competitions for the first time since December 1986, which was also a 2-0 win.
The own goal
The first half was cagey. Chelsea had no striker to hold the ball up and their only threats were long shots from Palmer and Jordan Henderson, which tested Antonin Kinsky. Spurs built confidence through a midfield of Mateus Fernandes, Sandro Tonali and James Maddison, but Mohammed Kudus and Tonali sent efforts off target, and Omar Marmoush shot straight at the goalkeeper.
Chelsea's set-piece coach, Austin MacPhee, was telling four home players to stay high when Spurs won a corner. The box emptied, Fernandes delivered from the left and Mike Penders got it wrong. The 21-year-old was thrown by a challenge from Van Hecke and punched the ball into his own net. Penders was playing his first full Premier League game because Emi Martínez is out with a broken jaw. He is the second-youngest goalkeeper to score an own goal in the league, after Illan Meslier.
Palmer sees red
Palmer had been booked for bumping into Fernandes. He was sent off after a lunge on Conor Gallagher while still on that booking, with Chelsea still hoping to equalise. It was Chelsea's first red card of the season and the 100th the club has had in the Premier League, making them the third team to reach that mark after Everton (113) and Arsenal (110). Xabi Alonso suggested Palmer could learn from it.
Chelsea were without the injured João Pedro, and Alonso started with no recognised striker, with Palmer and Morgan Rogers as false nines. Geovany Quenda made his first Premier League start and Danny Welbeck came on late. Estêvão drove in from the right and shot wide.
Mathys Tel made it 2-0 in the 87th minute, skipping in from the left and shooting from 20 yards. De Zerbi ran from his technical area to celebrate.
Spurs started the week bottom of the table. Two wins in a row have lifted them to 12th. Fernandes played in a deep-lying midfield role and Archie Gray covered both full-back positions.
Source: The Guardian