Nine-man Tottenham suffer first defeat of the season against Chelsea
Xinhua News Agency, London – In a thrilling Premier League clash, Tottenham Hotspur lost 1-4 at home to Chelsea after being reduced to nine men. This defeat marked Tottenham’s first loss in the 11th round of the Premier League.
Kulusevski opened the scoring for Tottenham in just the sixth minute of the game. However, their joy was short-lived as the match quickly turned in Chelsea’s favor. Sterling’s goal was disallowed by VAR due to a handball, saving Tottenham from conceding an equalizer.
Things took a turn for the worse for Tottenham when Romero was shown a red card for a tackle on Enzo in the penalty area. Palmer converted the subsequent penalty to level the score for Chelsea. The first half was disrupted by VAR interventions, resulting in a staggering 12 minutes of stoppage time. In this period, Tottenham’s Van der Veen and Maddison both had to be substituted due to injuries.
Tottenham’s situation worsened in the second half when Udoji was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Sterling, leaving the team with just nine players on the field. Chelsea took full advantage of their numerical superiority when Jaksson scored in the 75th minute to give his team the lead. The Senegalese striker then scored two more goals in stoppage time, securing a “hat trick” and sealing Chelsea’s 4-1 victory.
Tottenham, who had previously held the top spot in the Premier League standings for several rounds, relinquished their position and dropped to second place behind Manchester City by a single point. Chelsea, currently sitting in 10th place, is 12 points behind the league leaders, Manchester City. The two teams will face each other in a highly anticipated clash at Stamford Bridge on the 12th of November.
The defeat has dealt a blow to Tottenham’s title aspirations, while Chelsea will be buoyed by their convincing victory as they aim to climb up the league table.