Chelsea got the better of Tottenham in the latest Premier League London derby this evening, with boss Thomas Tuchel having since been singled out for deserved praise as a result.
The Blues were back in action a short time ago, making the trip across the capital for a showdown with Nuno Espirito Santo’s Spurs.
Chelsea headed into the action aiming to keep the club’s unbeaten start to the season alive, after making it five wins from six via a 1-0 Champions League downing of Zenit St. Petersburg during the week.
And, upon the final whistle sounding at the London Stadium, this is precisely what the visitors went on to do.
After an opening 45 minutes which saw both sides go close, and hosts Tottenham look impressive, Tuchel and co. simply took over following the interval.
First on target was Thiago Silva, who rose highest to nod home Marcos Alonso’s whipped corner from the left, etching his name into the history books as Chelsea’s 2nd-oldest Premier League goalscorer ever in the process:
36 – Aged 36 years and 362 days, Thiago Silva has become the second-oldest Chelsea player to score in the Premier League behind only Didier Drogba, who scored against Leicester City aged 37 years and 49 days in April 2015. Twilight. pic.twitter.com/SiZIrlC90Q
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 19, 2021
Then, just shy of the hour mark, it was two.
N’Golo Kante was the rare goalscorer on this occasion, directing home a long-range effort with the help of an altogether considerable deflection:
When your luck’s in…🍀
N’Golo Kante hits one from range and a huge deflection takes it away from Hugo Lloris!#GameZero pic.twitter.com/NywkGWTZfv
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) September 19, 2021
And this was how things remained through to injury-time, before Antonio Rudiger added some gloss to the scoreline with a 3rd, guiding Chelsea alongside title rivals Liverpool and Manchester United on 13 points atop the Premier League table.
Tricky Tuchel
In turn, on the back of the action coming to a close in North London, a whole host of Chelsea’s stars have since been deservedly singled out for praise.
The likes of Rudiger, Silva and Alonso all shone bright throughout proceedings, as the Pensioners made crystal clear once again why they are viewed by many as favourites to clinch glory in the English top-flight come the season’s end.
In truth, though, one man was the mastermind behind Chelsea’s utter dominance of their capital rivals this evening.
The individual in question? Thomas Tuchel.
After seeing his side come out of the blocks on the back foot at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Blues’ boss didn’t panic, simply re-organising his charges from the sideline courtesy of a series of in-game tweaks over the course of the first-half.
Chelsea have now kept more clean sheets (15) than they have conceded goals (14) in the Premier League under Thomas Tuchel. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/KeaDNUKdDY
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) September 19, 2021
Such efforts soon saw Chelsea establish a foothold in proceedings, before a key substitution at half-time – which saw N’Golo Kante introduced for Mason Mount – swung the momentum completely in favour of the visitors.
From here, once settled into a more clear-cut system, Tuchel’s stars simply out-thought, out-fought and out-played their Spurs counterparts in every facet of the game, proving good money for their eventual 3-0 victory.
Have the big-spending antics of those in a position of power at Stamford Bridge over the last couple of seasons aided Chelsea’s fortunes in reestablishing the club as one of world football’s elite? Of course.
But, as evidenced once again this evening, it was in fact the decision to take a punt on their latest headmaster which truly turned the Blues’ fortunes around, with years of trophy-laden success looking near-certain to lie in wait as the Tuchel-Chelsea train continues to pick up steam.
Crazy to think that PSG let go of Thomas Tuchel to bring in Mauricio Pochettino.
Tuchel continues to show why he’s one of the world’s very best managers. A CL win, a Super Cup win and a complete transformation of Chelsea.
What a fantastic job he’s done. pic.twitter.com/v161w29efv
— EiF (@EiFSoccer) September 19, 2021