Two Marc Cucurella slips were responsible for early Tottenham goals as the Chelsea defender lost his footing in the build-up to both of Spurs’ early scores.
The Spanish fullback slipped in possession to gift Tottenham their opening goal after just five minutes.
Brennan Johnson reacted quickest to latch onto the loose ball and deliver a brilliant cross for Dominic Solanke.
Former Bournemouth striker Solanke tucked home the opener to capitalise on Cucurella’s unfortunate error.
But minutes later, the unthinkable happened as he slipped again in a near-identical situation.
This time, Dejan Kulusevski was the beneficiary. The Swedish international cut inside and bent an excellent strike into the far corner to double Tottenham’s advantage.
Marc Cucurella Slips Force Him To Change Boots
Following his second slip in a matter of minutes, an incensed Cucurella raced towards the Chelsea dugout.
A sheepish-looking kit-man handed him another pair of boots, with longer studs in.
Marc Cucurella changing his boots after slipping twice, which led to both of Tottenham's goals in the opening minutes of Tottenham vs. Chelsea. pic.twitter.com/c1K9M05WL1
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 8, 2024
Sky Sports commentator Peter Drury compared Cucurella to a certain Disney princess who also had trouble with footwear.
He quipped: “Like Cinderella, Cucurella is looking for a slipper that fits.”
The change in boots seemed to have the desired effect, with no more slips for Cucrella.
Chelsea worked their way back into the first half, and pulled a goal back through on-loan Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho.
He picked up the ball out wide on the left, before driving in-field and unleashing a thunderous low strike into the right-hand corner.
The visitors then began to control possession for the remainder of the first half, and came close to an equaliser on several occaisions.
Cole Palmer miscued from six yards out in an uncharacteristic miss, before Son Heung-Min narrowly missed a chance to restore Tottenham’s two-goal advantage.
With both sides showing tremendous attacking intent, the biggest surprise of the first half was that it remained 2-1 at the break after such a frantic opening 20 minutes.
