Chelsea 3 Tottenham 0 - match report and reaction as Drogba crushes a good Spurs side

Yesterday’s game saw Chelsea set a new club record with 11 consecutive wins, retain top spot on top of the Premier League and become the only unbeaten side in England’s top division. This all came against a very able Tottenham side – who presented the sternest test Chelsea have faced so far this season – but the scoreline was the most comprehensive of the season’s victories thus far.

Chelsea’s stats so far this season are impressive but, having played the better football in the first half an hour (not that I saw the first 15 minutes of the game because I was queuing to get into the stadium for 25), losing two key defenders to injury and being denied what was certainly a penalty while the score was still at one nil, Tottenham fans will protest that the 3-0 result didn’t reflect the game. Regardless however, this was an outstanding showing of power, skill and ruthlessness from Chelsea and, in reality, the scoreline could have become embarrassing for Spurs had Kalou brought his shooting boots and the game hadn’t petered out in the last fifteen minutes.

Tottenham do play excellent attacking football at times (Redknapp will have to tighten things up if they want to progress further than 6^th or 7^th place) and both Defoe and Lennon in particular looked threatening in the first 30 minutes. Chelsea perhaps afforded Spurs’ attacking players a little too much time and space on the ball in the middle of the pitch and out wide, but in reality they were up against a confident and pacey side set up by Harry Redknapp to score goals. Beyond the first half an hour though, the game was Chelsea’s, with Ballack, Lampard and Essien pulling the strings whilst Anelka and Drogba constantly swapped centre and wide positions to pull the Spurs defence out of position, and subsequently out of the game.

Good performances were littered across the pitch. Essien was outstanding in the centre, constantly breaking up play and putting in one of the finest tackles (on Lennon) that I’ve seen in a long while. Bosingwa and Cole – the latter especially – were excellent from the full back positions, constantly overlapping to double up on their opposite numbers. Ballack is quietly getting amongst the goals this season, too. Once again Drogba maintained his imperious form and was completely unplayable for large portions of the game, and especially once Ledley King went off injured. Hopefully – ridiculous as they may sound – rumours emerging that the Ivorian’s injury was merely cramp are proved true, so reliant on him are Chelsea.

There’s plenty of match reports out there so I won’t go into any more detail but it’s worth saying that yesterday some form of marker was laid down. Man Utd have already lost one game and are leaking goals, Liverpool have lost two and aren’t in top gear yet, Arsenal can beat Wigan 4-0 but not a lot else and it’s too early for Man City. If – and it is certainly an ‘if’ – Chelsea can maintain anything like this kind of form then they have an excellent chance of bringing the title back to Stamford Bridge.

Spurs are a good side but Chelsea being able to raise their game to win comfortably tells us more about their title challenge than any of the previous games this season. Liverpool visit in two weeks time – I suspect that game will tell us even more…

bridgeviews.co.uk man of the match ­– Ashley Cole was again exceptional, but Drogba was unplayable. Put simply, Chelsea look a different side without him.

What the papers said

The Times
“Chelsea were ruthless to a degree that, to Tottenham, must have seemed almost vindictive. If Chelsea can sustain this form…they should regain the title that United have taken for the past three years. That is a big “if’’. But the pace, power and energy of this team of Carlo Ancelotti’s would put them ahead of all challengers at present even without the impressive compactness again displayed as they claimed a sixth win in as many league matches this season”

Guardian
“Chelsea’s serene progress under Carlo Ancelotti was maintained with a sixth consecutive victory that restored their three-point advantage at the top while most were still digesting events at Old Trafford. The Italian's perfect start almost feels as if it has slipped in under the radar.

“By the end they (Spurs) had been buried as Didier Drogba, liberated from his marker's shackles, bulldozed them into submission. The Ivorian still tumbles to the ground too easily, but he is simply devastating when he builds up a head of steam and stays on his feet. Spurs, wounded at the heart of their defence, parted for him as the game slipped away. The cramp that curtailed the striker's afternoon was a blessing, though Tottenham had long since been bloodied and bruised.”

What the managers said:

Carlo Ancelotti
“We are very happy because we won a difficult game. It was an important game because it was a derby and Tottenham was a very good opponent. They played very well in the first half and because they changed something in midfield, we had a little bit of difficulty to maitain control of the defensive positions. The second half was better for us because we did a very good job in the defensive positions and we won the ball in midfield. We did very good counter attacks for the second and third goals”.

Harry Redknapp
“In the first half-hour I was delighted and thought we could win it. If Robbie went down with the first contact, it’s a penalty, but he was too honest. With all the talk there’s been about diving, he tried to stay on his feet. As soon as Ledley King went off, I knew we were in trouble. We just couldn’t handle him (Drogba).”

Comments

[sick of big 4 dominance]

And the English league takes yet another step towards being more predictable than the Scottish league, as only 4 clubs are capable of winning any trophies/CL football and officials do all they can to keep said big 4 in their positions, as the Chelsea/Spurs and Man Utd/Man City games proved.

[Russell Saunders]

Sick of...thanks for your comment, appreciate the perspective.

Have to disagree though (but then, I would, wouldn't I?). Spurs started excellently this season, Man City will do well and Everton and Villa have pushed the 4th place team hard for the last few years. The 'big four' is on the verge of extinction - it might last one more year, but I reckon one of those teams will break in during 10/11.

And re. the referee decision making thing - it was one penalty. If Spurs fans really think that one penalty was the difference between getting something from the game or not, they're kidding themselves (all fans do that, me included, i'm not pointing the finger). If Spurs players hadn't missed chances or failed to pick up Drogba (to pick out just two examples) the score might have been different. One missed penalty on its own isn't enough to get upset, in my view. Chelsea scored three...

[Tom]

Had the penalty been given, Carvalho been sent off and Keane scored it (which he always does) the momentum would have turned Tottenham's way. But Webb either bottled it or is just an awful ref, I suspect the latter.

So the decision made a heck of a difference Russell.

[Russell Saunders]

Tom - as I've said on my latest post, I can't agree with you, sorry. It was a pen, but no way was it a red card.

Plus, it was just one decision that didn't go your way. There was plenty of time for your players to change the result, and they couldn't do it. You can criticise the referee (and I do that all the time), but spurs fans should be questioning their own players too in my opinion.

Now, if the referee had missed THREE blatent pens, that would be a different story...