Tottenham 0-3 Chelsea: Blues crush London rivals with statement second-half display

There was to be no exhibition in the art of finishing on the day these bitter London rivals united in memory of Jimmy Greaves.

No more goals for Romelu Lukaku who has returned to Chelsea in prolific form, although he went close with a header four minutes from time, saved by Hugo Lloris.

Nothing from Harry Kane who spent most of the game on the left of Tottenham’s front three and took more than an hour to produce an effort at goal.

Instead it was Thiago Silva who broke the deadlock with a header from a corner, and N’Golo Kante who claimed the second, helped past Lloris by a heavy deflection from Eric Dier.

Chelsea swept London rivals Spurs aside on enemy territory on Sunday, dominating the second-half to move top of the league

N’Golo Kante came on at half-time and Chelsea instantly took overwhelming control, scoring a heavily deflected second goal

Spurs were lacklustre and Harry Kane anonymous again, with the striker playing like a man who wanted to leave this summer

Antonio Rudiger added the third in stoppage time at the end of the match, sweeping in from a cross by Timo Werner to complete an emphatic victory for the visitors.

It was the cue for thousands of the Spurs fans to head for the exits. Those who remained jeered their team at the final whistle. After starting the season with three wins they have lost the last two and a home defeat against the Blues from the west of the capital is always hard to take.

Especially on the day when they lost their greatest ever player, Greaves, who scored on his debut for Chelsea against Tottenham before arriving at White Hart Lane via Milan to score 266 goals and become a hero and a legend.

Jubilant away fans taunted their rivals. “Tottenham Hotspur, it’s happened again,” they sang as they climbed back to the top of the Premier League.

There were times during a frantic derby when some seemed intimidated by the Greaves factor, as if reluctant to shoot in his deference. Kai Havertz missed his connection with the ball as he attempted to volley a header across goal from Cesar Azpilicueta.

Then Mason Mount sprang dangerously out of defence and traded passes with Romelu Lukaku as he held off Eric Dier. Spurs were outnumbered but Mount’s poor return pass did not present Lukaku with the chance to shoot with his first touch.

Instead, he was forced to roll the ball square, back to Mount and the delay gave Emerson Royal the chance to slide in and block the chance.

At the other end, midway through the first half, Sergio Reguilon was sent sprinting clear by Heung-min Son, but clearly did not fancy the angle on goal because he opted to attempt a cross, searching for Giovani Lo Celso, easily cut out by Rudiger.

Both Lo Celso and Cristian Romero started for Spurs, despite only returning to London on the eve of the game after international duty. They reported to play for Argentina in South America against the club’s wishes and served 10 days of quarantine in Croatia before they were able to return to training.

Thiago Silva scored the first, shaking off Dele Alli with ease to head into Hugo Lloris’ bottom corner and start the domination

Nuno Espirito Santo had no answer after Thomas Tuchel switched-out Mason Mount for Kante and changed the match 

Antonio Rudiger always likes to get involved with the derby drama, and topped-off a rock-solid display with a late goal 

The stadium paid a moving tribute to Jimmy Greaves, who passed away on the morning of the match. Greaves began his career at Chelsea and scored more than 150 goals, later becoming Spurs’ all-time top scorer

Even at 2-0 up, with the pressure off, Mateo Kovacic seemed to freeze in front of goal and failed to beat Lloris when he seemed certain to score.

Chelsea seized control at the start of the second half, soon after boss Thomas Tuchel bolstered his midfield, sending on N’Golo Kante for Mount during the interval.

Lloris pushed over a sweet volley by Marcos Alonso before the visitors took the lead from a corner, taken by Alonso and converted by Silva, who arrived late and climbed above Dele Alli to head in his first goal of 2021.

Tottenham wobbled, suddenly vulnerable at the back. Dier cleared off the line from Alonso after splendid work on the flanks by Havertz and Azpilicueta. Lloris saved again, this time from a header by Rudiger. But could not resist the pressure.

Lo Celso lost the ball in defence and Kante took aim from distance. Lloris was stranded as the shot crashed into Dier’s left shin and the ball deflected. Swerving across goal, it struck a post, spun across the line, behind the Spurs ‘keeper and into the net.

Kane finally stirred and tested Kepa, starting his first game of the season because Edouard Mendy was still suffering from a knock he picked up late in the Champions League tie against Zenit on Tuesday.

Chelsea might have scored more. Lloris saved from Silva, Lukaku and Kovacic before Rudiger’s goal. 

Marcos Alonso had a phenomenal game and caused constant danger from right-wing-back and corners to Tottenham 

Heung-min Son returned from injury to start the match but was barely noticeable as Chelsea took control on Sunday 

Dele Alli was crushed by Thiago Silva in open play and Santo’s decision to let him mark the Brazilian at corners was misguided

Thomas Tuchel believes Chelsea can still be better and was disappointed at the European champions’s first-half display