Chelsea beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 at Stamford Bridge to keep them in the hunt for European football – and deal a huge blow to their London rivals’ hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
Trevoh Chalobah opened the scoring as the defender rose to meet Conor Gallagher’s free-kick with a powerful header midway through the first half.
There was a lengthy video assistant referee check for a possible block by Chelsea defender Mark Cucorella on Brennan Johnson in the build-up, but the goal was awarded.
Spurs didn’t create many chances and Cristian Romero had their best chance when he headed wide inside the six-yard box in the first half.
But Chelsea took control in the 71st minute when Cole Palmer’s free-kick from the edge of the area hit the bar and Nicholas Jackson headed the rebound into an empty net.
Victory sends Chelsea up to eighth, just two points behind seventh-placed Newcastle and a potential European spot.
Tottenham, meanwhile, are seven points behind Aston Villa with a game in hand in the battle for fourth place.
Their defeat means Liverpool have now won Champions League football in 2024-25.
Chelsea’s strong home form continues.
Chelsea have lost just one of their last 17 home games in all competitions and that defeat came against Wolves back in February.
They produced another good performance here and Jackson – a constant threat to the Spurs defense – had a great chance early on when he was played but saw his shot half-saved by Guglielmo Vicario. before Mickey van de Ven cleared the line.
Van de Ven’s clearance went straight to Palmer but he couldn’t get the ball in from close range.
With 14 first-team players injured and a substitute bench full of youngsters – 21-year-old Cesar Casady was the oldest member – manager Mauricio Pochettino called on his starting XI to win his 400th game in English football. Had to depend. .
Mykhailo Mudrić and Noni Madiuke struggled on the counter attack for Tottenham but Chelsea could not find the last ball to give them the third goal.
After Gallagher scored the first goal, stand-in captain at the time rewarded the Chelsea supporters with a banner display in support of him before the game.
The England midfielder has just one year left on his contract and Chelsea are open to offers with Spurs one of the clubs interested in him.
Tottenham fell further behind in the race for the fourth.
Ange Postecoglou made five changes from the side that lost the North London derby at the weekend but that didn’t seem to carry over to his Spurs side.
The Australian cut a frustrated figure in the first half as he tried to push his team forward, the target of much of his frustration being midfielder Yves Busoma.
Tottenham have lost their last three Premier League games and are losing ground and hoping to secure a place in the Champions League.
They are seven points behind Aston Villa, who will guarantee fourth place with two wins from their last three games, even if Spurs win all four.
Tottenham have also now kept just two clean sheets in their last 25 Premier League games and conceded another set piece in this match.
Player of the match
GallagherConor Gallagher
Chelsea
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Squad no23Player NameGallagher
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Squad no3Player NameCucurella
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Squad no14Player NameChalobah
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Squad no25Player NameCaicedo
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Squad no15Player NameJackson
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Squad no63Player NameAchampong
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Squad no11Player NameMaduke
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Squad no10Player NameEvidence
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Squad no42Player NameGilchrist
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Squad no31Player NameCassady
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Squad no49Player NameTurin
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Squad no5Player NameBadishail
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Squad no28Player NamePetroc
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Squad no20Player NamePalmer
The line-ups
Chelsea
formation 4-2-3-1
- 28Petroc
- 42GilchristSubstitute forAchampongOn 85′minutes
- 14Chalobah
- 5Badishail
- 3Cucurella
- 25Caicedo
- 23Gallagher
- 11Maduke
- 20Palmer
- 10EvidenceSubstitute forCassadyOn 75′minutes
- 15JacksonSubstitute forTurinOn 90+4′minutes
Alternative
- 13Bettinelli
- 31Cassady
- 36D’Souza Eugenio
- 46Sturgeon
- 49Turin
- 54Castledine
- 63Achampong
- 67George
- 78Dyer
Tottenham
formation 4-2-3-1
- 13curve
- 23More
- 17Romero
- 37Van de VanBooked on 67 minutes.
- 12Emerson RoyalSubstitute forLou CelsoOn 86′minutes
- 8BasumaSubstitute forHøjbjergOn 63′minutes
- 29SarrSubstitute forMedicineOn 63′minutes
- 22JohnsonSubstitute forflowerOn 78′minutes
- 21Klosewski
- 7Son Hyung Min
- 9RichardsonSubstitute forBentancurOn 63′minutes
Alternative
- 4Leave
- 5Højbjerg
- 6Drăguşin
- 10Medicine
- 11flower
- 18Lou Celso
- 30Bentancur
- 40Austin
- 59Peacock
Live Text
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Match over, Chelsea 2, Tottenham Hotspur 0.
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Second half ends, Chelsea 2, Tottenham Hotspur 0.
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The attempt was missed. Bryan Gil (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from a difficult angle and long range on the left is too high. With the help of James Madison.
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Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Granted by Moses Fallon.
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Substitute, Chelsea. Jimmy Torrenian replaces Nicholas Jackson.
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The attempt was missed. James Maddison (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. With the help of Giovanni Lo Celso.
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The attempt was missed. Rodrigo Bentancur (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from the center of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Son Heung-min after a fast break.
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The attempt was aborted. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.
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The attempt was aborted. Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur) header from the center of the box is blocked. Assisted by Giovanni Lo Celso with a cross.
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Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Granted by Moses Fallon.
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The attempt was aborted. James Maddison (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
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The attempt was aborted. Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. With the help of Son Heung-Min.
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Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Acknowledged by Conor Gallagher.
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The attempt was aborted. Rodrigo Bentancur (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from the center of the box is blocked. Assisted by Brian Gill with a cross.
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Son Heung-Min (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Foul by Benoit Badiashile (Chelsea).
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Attempt saved. Rodrigo Bentancur (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. With the help of Son Heung-Min.
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Corners, Chelsea. Endowed by Guglielmo Vicario.
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Attempt saved. Cole Palmer (Chelsea) left footed shot from long range on the right side of the goal is saved in the top center of the goal.
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Foul by Rodrigo Bentancur (Tottenham Hotspur).
Credit : www.bbc.co.uk