Spurs make light of their Stamford Bridge hoodoo to ignite their season and plunge Chelsea into gloom
Premier League
Chelsea (0) 0 Palmer s/o 80
Tottenham Hotspur (0) 2 Penders og 77, Tel 87
A first win at the Bridge since 2018 and only their second here in the Premier League era made a mockery of Tottenham's traditional woes at their least favourite ground.
Today felt different from the off as Spurs' front-foot approach asked questions and pinned Chelsea back on their own turf in defiance of those many decades of despair for the Lilywhites in this neck of the woods.
They fully deserved their triumph - a first away win of the season to take them out of the bottom three - although they had to be patient for the goals which carried them to victory.
The first owed much to luck as keeper Mike Penders - in his first league start for the club - punched disastrously into his own net. The second was a beauty from man of the match Mathys Tel who burst past defenders from half way and unleashed a low shot from outside the area which beat Penders' dive by his right hand post.
In between those moments, Cole Palmer capped a frustrating day for both him and his team by getting sent off - the result of an awful head loss that brought him two yellow cards in fairly quick succession.
That moment underlined how poorly Chelsea played during that second half in particular and they could have no complaints about the outcome. Xabi Alonso took a soaking during the first half through inappropriate attire. His players were properly rinsed in the second.
It was one decent chance apiece in a frantic opening quarter to a game played out against the backdrop of wind and showers from Storm Boelo. But even then Tottenham did not carry the look of canon fodder as they usual do in this fixture.
Palmer, teed up by Morgan Rogers, curled a shot towards the top corner that Antonin Kinsky clawed away. Mo Kudus spun on a cross hit deep before angling a shot that drifted just wide of the far post.
Spurs went close again when Andy Roberson exchanged passes with Tel before hooking the ball back from the byline for Omar Marmoush and Penders was forced into a good reflex stop.
Tottenham's determination to play aggressive football was impressive and should have been rewarded but the Blues came up with a few chances of their own, even if they were seeing less of the ball and clearly missing the presence of an injured Joao Pedro..
Following a neat interchange of passes in the box, Jordan Henderson clipped a low shot from the edge of the area that had Kinsky scrambling to save - the keeper making amends for having given the ball away in the first place.
Roberto de Zerbi may have been pleased at how it was going, but the second half began with the setback of James Maddison having to go off with an injury. Both player and club will be praying it does not signal a significant relapse given he has only just resumed his position as a starter following injury-ravaged months.
His replacement, former Chelsea man Conor Gallagher, did not receive a warm welcome from home fans.
The game lost much of its shape and tempers began to rise. Referee Chris Kavanagh booked both Fernandes and Palmer after the Spurs midfielder handled to prevent Palmer getting away and the frustrated Chelsea playmaker retaliated by walking into his prone opponent. Players from both sides squared up.
But just as the game looked to be drifting towards a stalemate, Penders had the misfortune of punching a corner into his own net - Maxence Lacroix's desperate bid to hook it off the line to no avail as the bleeper confirmed it had crossed the whitewash.
And any chance of a route back looked bleak not long after when Palmer appeared to stamp on Gallagher to pick up a second yellow card -another moment of dreadful indiscipline which summed up Chelsea's afternoon.
The stage was clear then for Tel to administered the coup de grace - a wonderful strike that rewarded Spurs for their solid showing which upset the normal order of things.
Chelsea: (3-4-2-1) Penders - Acheampong, Lacroix, Colwill - Pedro Neto (Welbeck 88), Caicedo, Henderson, Hato (Palestra 65) - Palmer, Quenda (Estevao 72) - Rogers
Spurs: (4-2-3-1) Kinsky - Gray, van Hecke, van de Ven, Robertson (Pedro Porro 65) - Mateus Fernandes, Tonali - Kudus (Kulusevski 88), Maddison (Gallagher 51), Tel (Davies 88) - Marmoush (Solanke 65)
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