Tottenham heaped further pressure on Graham Potter's job at Chelsea by securing a comfortable 2-0 victory against their London rivals at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Goals from Oliver Skipp and Harry Kane settled the contest with the Blues struggling to significantly test Fraser Forster despite enjoying 59 per cent of the possession.
The clash was a decisive one for both teams, with Spurs hoping to solidify a spot in the top four with Newcastle playing in the Carabao Cup final. Meanwhile, Chelsea were in desperate need of a win after a difficult first few months of 2023 where they have secured just one victory and scored only four goals in the process.
Despite a damning record in recent years for the hosts on their own patch against Chelsea, Cristian Stellini was able to move his record in the absence of Antonio Conte to four wins and zero defeats. Much of the focus coming out of the game will be on Chelsea's struggles continuing, but Tottenham's dominance should not be overlooked.
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From their last seven games in all competitions, Spurs have kept five clean sheets. With Harry Kane in attack, Spurs have never had significant goal scoring issues, it has instead always been their defending that's let them down. However, those woes look to be past them, for now at least, with the national media heaping praise on Tottenham for an assured performance.
The Mirror
Tottenham Hotspur turned the heat on Graham Potter after ousting his limp Chelsea side 2-0 in a fiercely-contested London derby.
Oliver Skipp's scorching strike 30 seconds into the second half and a neat effort from Harry Kane fired Spurs to victory and gave them a four-point cushion in fourth place. The hosts continued their good home form under the stewardship of first-team coach Cristian Stellini to boost their Champions League ambitions, as Antonio Conte recovers from an operation to remove his gallbladder.
Commiserations to any Tottenham fans who got caught in the half-time queue, as they'll likely have missed Oliver Skipp's humdinger of a strike to put Spurs 1-0 up a mere 30 seconds in the second half. After Chelsea failed to deal with a Tottenham attack, Skipp outmuscled Felix to cut out Fernandez's weak clearance.
The Spurs midfielder saw his name in lights and lined up a strike which swerved away from Kalidou Koulibaly and caught Kepa flat-footed. After the Spanish goalkeeper was only able to get fingertips to it, Skipp wheeled away in celebration of his first senior goal on his 44th Tottenham appearance.
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The Guardian
Nothing captured the confusion at Chelsea better than the sight of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang waiting to enter the fray just before Harry Kane sealed the points for Tottenham. There was no point trying to work out the logic at that stage. Chelsea had delivered another muddled display and, although Graham Potter needed someone in blue to do the unthinkable and score a goal, it was hard to see why this was the moment to turn to a player who had not been deemed worthy of a place on the bench for more than a month.
It hardly suggested that Chelsea, who lie closer to the bottom three than the top four after another demoralising defeat, have a plan. Why bring back Aubameyang now? The striker has been shoved to the margins, omitted from Chelsea’s squad for the Champions League, deemed less effective than David Datro Fofana. But here, with Potter desperate for a response after losing at home to Southampton, there was nothing but more misery, waste and Aubameyang given seven minutes to try to stop Spurs from beating Chelsea in the league for the first time since November 2018.
Spurs, who once again had Cristian Stellini deputising for Antonio Conte on the touchline, did not have to be special to tighten their hold on fourth place. They played the game on their terms, sitting deep, waiting for opportunities, and were in control after the excellent Oliver Skipp gave them the lead with a magnificent goal in the 46th minute.
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Daily Mail
Of all the ways Chelsea have contrived to avoid victory during an awful sequence of results since the World Cup, this will have been the hardest to swallow.
At Tottenham. On enemy turf with the home crowd guffawing at their misfortune. Against a team who have spluttered this far into the season and yet purred with fluency once in front, consolidating their position in fourth on a day with two rivals distracted by a Wembley final.
For all their talent and flair, Chelsea looked soft all over. Easy to keep out. Easy to dispossess. Easy to penetrate. This must be of great concern for Graham Potter. His expensive collection of players still far from looking anything like a team.
Spurs were tougher. More grown up, more cynical. Yes, Spurs of all teams. Antonio Conte, watching from home in Turin where he is recovering from surgery to remove his gallbladder, must have bristled with pride.
Oliver Skipp scored his first Tottenham goal to fire them ahead early in the second half, and eclipsed Enzo Fernandez in the heat of midfield battle. Harry Kane added the second, from a corner, to remind the visitors what a goalscoring centre forward looks like.
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