Spurs go 25 years without victory at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea notching a resounding 3-0 victory, reaffirming their place at the top of the Premier League while upholding their unbeaten record.
Spurs had looked mightily impressive for the first 20 minutes, with Harry Kane the width of the crossbar away from putting Mauricio Pochettino’s side into the lead.
Eden Hazard’s goal got the opener, and when Didier Drogba scored the second after just 22 minutes, the game was as good as done.
The visitors were unable to replicate their early pressure, and Chelsea’s victory march became a procession, topped off with Loic Remy adding a third goal.
FINAL SCORE:
Chelsea 3
Spurs 0
Chelsea will look to maintain their unbeaten start to the English Premier League season when London-rivals Tottenham Hotspur make a visit to the Bridge. Join The Roar Sports from 6:45am AEDT for live scores and commentary.
Jose Mourinho’s side have enjoyed a near-perfect start to the campaign, unbeaten in all competitions and streaking ahead at the top of the Premier League table with just a third of the season gone so far.
Talks of an “Invincible” season may be held back until after the always-hectic Christmas period, but a win over Spurs could see Chelsea streak up to ten points clear should results go their way.
For Spurs, their season has been more of the strange variety than successful. An air of unsatisfaction seems to hang around White Hart Lane, with heavy defeats against those they should be competing alongside, as well as disappointing home defeats to the likes of Stoke and West Brom.
Having said that, a win in this game will take Mauricio Pochettino’s side to within one point of fifth-placed West Ham, giving them their seventh win from 14 games in the process.
That will be far from an easy task for the visitors, who have not won at Stamford Bridge since 1990, when a certain Gary Lineker scored the winning goal – 27 matches ago.
They don’t have to go quite that far back for victory at the Lane, with Jermain Defoe and Gareth Bale on the scoresheet in a 2-1 victory in 2010, blowing the title race wide open in the process.
Chelsea will be without striker Diego Costa, who picked up his fifth yellow card of the season to earn suspension, with Loic Remy expected to come in for the Brazilian.
Mourinho could plump for Didier Drogba as the replacement, however, with his experience of many a London derby a huge asset in the Ivorian’s favour. Nathan Ake is also out with a hamstring problem.
Spurs will wait to test the fitness of striker Emmanuel Adebayor, although he may not even get the nod with Roberto Soldado breaking his scoring duck – 627 minutes long to be precise – against Everton on Sunday.
Christian Eriksen is also set to start, looking to add to his 11 goals in the calendar year, behind just Yaya Toure and Steven Gerrard in terms of quantity of goals from a midfielder.
Prediction: Both sides have won three of their last four games, but Chelsea’s excellent form this season should see them come out on top, despite their 0-0 blip against Sunderland, the first time they had failed to score a goal in a Premier League game since May.
Diego Costa will be a miss for them, but the midfield should provide the necessary goal threats, whilst the hosts’ back four will easily overpower Spurs’ underwhelming frontline.
2-0 Chelsea.
Ryan Selvage
Roar Guru
I thought if Spurs could have taken one of their early chances the result could have been so very different. Lamela, Kane, Eriksen all impressive but their heads dropped as quick as Hazard struck.
Ross Lawson
Roar Guru
8:43am: Spurs go 25 years without victory at Stamford Bridge, with the Blues gaining a resounding 3-0 victory, reaffirming their place at the top of the Barclays Premier League and their unbeaten record to match. Spurs had looked mightily impressive for the first 20 minutes, with Harry Kane the width of the crossbar away from putting Mauricio Pochettino's side into the lead. Eden Hazard's goal got the opener, and when Didier Drogba scored the second after just 22 minutes, the game was as good as done. The visitors were unable to replicate their early pressure, and Chelsea's victory march became a procession, topped off with Loic Remy adding a third goal - ruining my prediction in the process! That's all from myself, thanks for joining The Roar Sports for live Premier League coverage. OTHER RESULTS: Arsenal 1-0 Southampton Everton 1-1 Hull Sunderland 1-4 Manchester City
Ross Lawson
Roar Guru
FULL-TIME: CHELSEA 3-0 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (Hazard 19', Drogba 22', Remy 73')
Ross Lawson
Roar Guru
90+1' - Three minutes of added time, as Chelsea close out for their 14th unbeaten game of the season out of a possible 14. Chelsea 3-0 Tottenham
Ross Lawson
Roar Guru
87' - A dead finale here. Chelsea in supreme control, and Tottenham missing the firepower up front to forge a chance. Chelsea 3-0 Tottenham
Ross Lawson
Roar Guru
82 - Chelsea winding down this game as all champion sides do. Spurs looking to use the width they should have been accessing all game, but to no avail. Chelsea 3-0 Tottenham
Ross Lawson
Roar Guru
74' - SUBSTITUTION: John Obi Mikel comes on for Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea) With Fabregas just one yellow card away from a suspension, and Matic already out of the trip to Newcastle, Jose Mourinho risks the Spaniard no more, with Mikel coming on to anchor the midfield. Chelsea 3-0 Tottenham
Ross Lawson
Roar Guru
73' - Oscar with a chance of a fourth, but he fires wastefully past the post. Chelsea 3-0 Tottenham
Ross Lawson
Roar Guru
72' - Who needs Diego Costa?! After Didier Drogba netted earlier, strike partner Loic Remy has now also found the net not long after coming on. The Frenchman turns smartly - a direct instruction from Mourinho just moments ago - shrugs off Vertonghen far too easily, firing past compatriot Lloris. Chelsea 3-0 Tottenham
Ross Lawson
Roar Guru
72' - GOAL: CHELSEA 3-0 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (Loic Remy)
Ross Lawson
Roar Guru
72' - Roberto Soldado - clear of his mega goal-drought after scoring on Sunday - is prepping to come on, in place of Lamela.
Ross Lawson
Roar Guru
70' - Chelsea giving the ball away far too often for their fans to be comfortable with the nature of the last 20 minutes. Spurs yet to fashion another major chance, however. Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham
Ross Lawson
Roar Guru
67' - SUBSTITUTION: Didier Drogba is off, with Loic Remy coming on in his place (Chelsea) A standing ovation greets Drogba on his departure.
Ross Lawson
Roar Guru
65' - An audacious flick over the defence from Bentaleb almost gets Chadli in for Spurs, but Courtois reads the situation well enough to snuff out the danger. Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham
Ross Lawson
Roar Guru
64' - Free header for Vertonghen after an excellent corner from Eriksen. The Belgian does excellently to give himself some space, and should do far better with his chance. Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham
Ross Lawson
Roar Guru
63' - Finally a bit of promise for Spurs, but Chadli is unable to gather on the edge of the area when in a decent position. Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham
Ross Lawson
Roar Guru
60 - Unfortunately there hasn't been a huge amoundtto shout about in this second half, with Chelsea comfortably in command and Spurs struggling to get through. Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham
Ross Lawson
Roar Guru
56'- SUBSTITUTION: Paulino and Nacer Chadli replace Aaron Lennon and Ryan Mason(Tottenham Hotspur) Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham
Ross Lawson
Roar Guru
50' - Matic is booked for a foul on the on-rushing Kane, which sees him suspended for the trip to Newcastle at the weekend. Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham
Ross Lawson
Roar Guru
50' - BOOKING: Nemaja Matic (Chelsea)