'Don’t worry about a thing' read the small placard held up by a Chelsea fan to Cole Palmer and his celebrating teammates after the final whistle.
Why worry when you have Palmer, second only to Mohamed Salah as the best player in the Premier League?
Palmer scored two penalties in Chelsea's 4-3 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
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Palmer scored two penalties in Chelsea's 4-3 win at the Tottenham Hotspur StadiumCredit: Getty
Why worry when you’re playing a team as inconsistent and brittle as Tottenham Hotspur, who you’ve beaten in five of your last seven visits? Lads, it’s Spurs.
Why worry when Tottenham send on teenagers in Archie Gray (however promising) and Lucas Bergvall and you send on LaLiga champions (in Joao Felix)?
Why worry when the Spurs head coach, Ange Postecoglou, is gambling on the fitness of his best two centre-backs, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romeo, who fail to finish the game?
Why worry when you have your own coach in Enzo Maresca who has the strength of personality and tactical nous to keep a collection of big names happy?
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Why worry when you have a winning culture that Spurs lack, a culture embodied by Palmer?
Chelsea’s No.20 was the calmest person within this magnificent stadium, a symbol of all the control and sustained excellence lacking in Spurs.
He made light of Yves Bissouma’s attempt to shackle him. He scored twice, both nerveless penalties, the second a majestic Panenka that floated mockingly into the net as Fraser Forster dived into thin air.
Palmer delivered an assist, reaching 50 goal involvements in his 48 Premier League games for Chelsea (33 goals, 17 assists).
He's an entertainer, a team player, and above all a winner.
He’s leading the Chelsea chase of Liverpool. Palmer and Maresca may play down Chelsea’s title chances but they are very real.
This outrageous Panenka penalty by Palmer proved to be the decisive goal in Chelsea's triumph
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This outrageous Panenka penalty by Palmer proved to be the decisive goal in Chelsea's triumphCredit: Getty
Palmer is spearheading the title bid of Chelsea, who are second in the Premier League and are four points off leaders Liverpool
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Palmer is spearheading the title bid of Chelsea, who are second in the Premier League and are four points off leaders LiverpoolCredit: Getty
If Chelsea had a better goalkeeper than Robert Sanchez, another elite-level centre-back and a fit Reece James, they could challenge Liverpool more closely.
Liverpool are rightly favourites but Chelsea have Maresca juggling his talented squad well; Pedro Neto and Jadon Sancho as diligent out of possession as they are in, they have Enzo Fernandez rediscovering form, and they have Palmer.
Even when Spurs took a two-goal lead within 11 minutes, Palmer never panicked. He kept his nerve just as his teammate Marc Cucurella failed to keep his footing.
Chelsea’s left-back was wearing the wrong length studs, and slipped as Brennan Johnson sped down the right and crossed for Dom Solanke to get across Levi Colwill to score. Cucurella slipped again and Dejan Kulusevski slalomed through to score.
Cucurella changed his boots and promptly sent Sancho weaving in from the left to pull a goal back. Palmer was already gracing the game with his elegant touches and swift movement and the tide turned.
Anthony Taylor’s desire to let a derby flow was commendable but he really should have taken action for Moises Caicedo’s studs-up challenge on Pape Sarr and then Kulesevski’s glancing elbow on Romeo Lavia, who’d earlier been booked for fouling the Swede.
Things started poorly for Chelsea, who found themselves two goals down in the opening 12 minutes
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Things started poorly for Chelsea, who found themselves two goals down in the opening 12 minutesCredit: Getty
Cucurella changed boots after his slips led to Spurs' first two goals
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Cucurella changed boots after his slips led to Spurs' first two goalsCredit: Getty
Chelsea may have got fortunate with Caicedo avoiding dismissal for this challenge on Pape Matar Sarr
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Chelsea may have got fortunate with Caicedo avoiding dismissal for this challenge on Pape Matar SarrCredit: Sky Sports
But Kulusevski was arguably fortunate to escape a red too with his challenge leaving Lavia in a heap
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But Kulusevski was arguably fortunate to escape a red too with his challenge leaving Lavia in a heapCredit: Getty
And a cut on Lavia's head
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And a cut on Lavia's headCredit: Instagram @romeolavia
There was so much entertainment that it was also tempting to laugh at the Premier League match centre posting: “VAR checked for a potential red card following a challenge by Caicedo on Sarr and confirmed the referee’s call of no serious foul play”.
Nonsense. Caicedo deserved red. So did Kulusevski. Neither received even yellow.
Howard Webb’s next ‘Match Officials mic’d up' show should be interesting. Actions that risk injuring an opponent have to be stopped.
Lavia did not appear for the second half, nursing a hamstring, and Malo Gusto came on at right-back with Caicedo moving into midfield.
Caicedo raced into the box and was brought down, almost comically, by Bissouma in one of those challenges best described as 'got there as quickly as he could'.
Palmer duly sent Forster the wrong way. Palmer then dribbled past Destiny Udogie, Van de Ven, Pape Sarr and Bissouma before the ball deflected to Fernandez, who had ghosted past Kulusevski into the area.
Caicedo not seeing Red after questionable tackle leaves Spurs fan furious
Fernandez caught the ball on the half-volley and gave Forster no chance. Spurs players looked around in frustration. Kulusevski looked at his boots, picking out some loose blades of grass.
And why worry when Spurs’ marking and challenging is poor? Palmer was dribbling away from goal when caught by Pape Sarr. The penalty was clear, and all that remained was for Palmer to dink it past Forster. Son Heung-Min scored a very late consolation third for Spurs but Chelsea were deserved winners.
There was no dissent towards Postecoglou at the final whistle, mainly because so many Spurs fans had left.
Postecoglou says he 'can’t rotate', and keeps relying on a small group of players who then become vulnerable to fatigue or injury.
Postecoglou is under increasing pressure with Spurs losing seven of their last 15
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Postecoglou is under increasing pressure with Spurs losing seven of their last 15Credit: Getty
That’s partly down to the club’s recruitment, spending so much on the long-term promise of youth, rather than battle-ready 26-year-olds.
But it’s also a question of mentality, and Postecoglou observed there was a 'sense of desperation' about his team when the game started to slide.
They need more fighters and leaders (and more like the excellent Pedro Porro).
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Postecoglou will bear the brunt of the criticism but it's a problem of culture at Spurs. They lack Chelsea’s fortitude.
And, unlike Chelsea, they should worry.