Chelsea piled the strain on Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou after hitting again from 2-0 right down to win 4-3 in a pulsating encounter.
It appeared the house facet, and their Australian head coach, would get a morale-boosting win after they surged right into a commanding lead early on by targets from Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski.
However Chelsea proved why they’re very a lot within the title race with a superb comeback to assert a win that strikes them to inside 4 factors of leaders Liverpool.
Cole Palmer scored two second-half penalties so as to add to targets from Jadon Sancho and Enzo Fernandez as Chelsea continued their spectacular resurgence below the shrewd management of Enzo Maresca.
“Coolness PERSONIFIED” 🥶
Cole Palmer with a Panenka penalty to place the sport past all doubt! pic.twitter.com/JE96MpFUrr
— Sky Sports activities Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 8, 2024
Son Heung-min pulled one again late on however it was one other afternoon to overlook for Postecoglou with returning central defenders Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven – the latter a shock inclusion – each failing to see out the 90 minutes.
The transformation was not on the playing cards within the early going as two slips from Marc Cucurella handed Spurs the initiative.
His first slip led on to Spurs’ opener. The Spain full-back misplaced his footing on the greasy floor, enabling Brennan Johnson to take the ball, carry it down the appropriate flank earlier than crossing low for Solanke, whose intelligent dart in entrance of Levi Colwill gave him a yard of house, to prod residence.
Then, six minutes later, Cucurella’s footwear let him down once more with one other slip seeing him lose possession. The ball was recycled to Kulusevski and he ran throughout the Chelsea penalty space earlier than directing a low shot that crept inside Robert Sanchez’s left-hand put up.
Cucurella instantly sprinted over to the touchline to vary his boots however the harm had been finished.
Cucurella slips AGAIN and Kulusevski doubles Tottenham’s lead! 🤯
The Chelsea defender instantly runs off the pitch to vary his boots 🫣 pic.twitter.com/R1enDM5PGp
— Sky Sports activities Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 8, 2024
Spurs had been in full management however the first signal that it will not be plain crusing got here after 13 minutes when Romero, making his first look since mid-November, was compelled off having suffered discomfort within the act of constructing an elaborate flick inside his personal penalty space.
And 4 minutes later, Chelsea hit again as Sancho minimize in from the left and curled a superb shot previous Fraser Forster.
Palmer should have made it 2-2 inside 20 minutes however missed the ball fully when attempting to fit residence Fernandez’s cut-back.
A frenetic half continued with Son curling inches over at one finish earlier than Forster produced a superb double save to disclaim Palmer and Pedro Neto on the different.
Moises Caicedo was lucky to not see pink after a problem on Pape Sarr that VAR deemed lacked ‘extreme pressure’, as did Kulusevski for a useless elbow on Romeo Lavia earlier than halftime.
Have been Moises Caicedo and Dejan Kulusevski lucky to not be despatched off within the first half? 👇 pic.twitter.com/7ItrHvtDqh
— Sky Sports activities Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 8, 2024
In between these moments, Sarr headed onto the bar and Solanke scuffed a shot straight at Sanchez from a yard out.
Chelsea began the second half on the entrance foot and solely a superb save from Forster prevented the damaging Sancho from equalising after 48 minutes.
It appeared the leveller was coming and it duly arrived after 58 minutes when Yves Bissouma recklessly lunged right into a problem on his former Brighton team-mate Moises Caicedo inside the realm. Palmer made no mistake from the spot, slotting coolly into the left-hand nook of the online.
Son one way or the other missed the goal halfway by the half when clear by and it proved a pricey miss as 5 minutes later Chelsea accomplished the comeback. Some neat footwork from Palmer down the appropriate was adopted by a shot that deflected into the trail of Fernandez and the Argentine World Cup winner lashed previous Forster together with his left-foot.
Sancho was denied a fourth by a superb Pedro Porro deal with however that didn’t deter Chelsea who scored once more with eight minutes to go after Sarr stupidly barged into Palmer within the space.
The England worldwide displayed all his prodigious expertise with a cool Panenka to beat Forster and immediate the primary refrain of boos from the house devoted.
They had been cheered deep into injury-time when substitute James Maddison minimize the ball again for Son to attain however it was not sufficient as Chelsea held on.