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Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
Tottenham Hotspur have won away at Stamford Bridge for only the second time in the history of the Premier League, and for the first time since 2018.
The Lilywhites secured a 2-0 win away at Chelsea on Saturday evening thanks to an own goal from Mike Penders and a fantastic solo goal from Mathys Tel.
mathys-tel-spurs-chelsea
Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
Roberto De Zerbi's side were the last team in the 92 in England to win a league match when they beat Coventry 3-1 last time out, and now they have won two on the bounce.
The Italian head coach is finally seeing the rewards for his work on the training ground in recent months, as Spurs played the Blues off the park on Saturday.
How Spurs controlled the game against Chelsea
Xabi Alonso deployed his usual 3-4-2-1 set-up for Chelsea, but with Morgan Rogers as the centre-forward due to Joao Pedro's injury, and Spurs made the most of their opposition's makeshift attack.
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Rogers is not a natural number nine and did not press Micky van de Ven and Jan Paul van Hecke in the same way that a real centre-forward would, which gave them more time on the ball to dictate the flow of the game.
The time that Chelsea gave Spurs on the ball when their centre-backs had possession allowed the away side to build confidence and then they started to control the game in midfield by rotating and playing quick passes to break through the lines.
||
|Chelsea 0-2 Spurs|
|Stat|Chelsea|Spurs|
|---|
|Possession|32|68|
|Shots|7|15|
|Passes|287|639|
|xG|0.43|0.74|
|xGOT|0.35|1.10|
|Final third entries|38|58|
Tottenham frustrated the home players and supporters with how well they used the ball and moved the Blues around to control the game, which may have led to Cole Palmer's problems in the second half.
How Spurs frustrated Cole Palmer
The Chelsea superstar was sent off for two bookings in the second-half after a frustrating evening that led to him taking out his frustrations on Spurs players to earn those two bookings.
Without a natural striker in the side for him to link up with, Palmer had to take the game to Spurs on his own at times and he was unable to do so effectively.
The England international was constantly closed down and crowed out by Lilywhites players, as evidenced by the fact that he only completed one of his five attempted dribbles and walked off the pitch without any 'big chances' created.
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By not giving Palmer a sniff from open play throughout the game, Spurs frustrated the attacking midfielder, which may have contributed to his two fouls for the red card later in the match.
How Spurs star totally embarrassed Palmer
Whilst it was a team effort for Spurs to get the better of Chelsea and Palmer, there was one player in particular who totally embarrassed the former Manchester City talent.
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Mateus Fernandes was brought into the team in the middle of the park by De Zerbi and he justified his inclusion in the side with a dominant performance alongside Sandro Tonali.
It was the Portuguese star's corner that was punched into the back of the net by Penders for the opening goal, as he put in a fantastic delivery that forced the goalkeeper to make a decision.
Fernandes dominated and embarassed Palmer by being quick out to close down the English midfielder, ending the match with three tackles won and six ball recoveries.
It was also the former West Ham United midfielder who caused an angry reaction from Palmer for his first booking, as his intentional handball to stop a Chelsea counter led to the forward bumping into Fernandes on purpose.
That moment seemed to ignite the English attacker's rage, as he soon saw red for a second yellow card offence, and it was borne out of the Spurs midfielder's dark arts, as well as his impressive defensive work.
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Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers
On top of dominating Palmer on an individual level, Fernandes ran the game for the Lilywhites overall with 121 touches and 91 completed passes, as he played a key role in his side controlling the game from start to finish.
Christian Eriksen while playing for Tottenham
Christian Eriksen while playing for Tottenham