28  Cesar AZPILICUETA (c)
30  David LUIZ
  2  Antonio RUDIGER
  3  Marcos ALONSO

  5  JORGINHO

11  PEDRO 
17  Mateo KOVACIC  (12  Ruben LOFTUS-CHEEK  77)
  7  N'Golo KANTE

  9  Gonzalo HIGUAIN  (18  Olivier GIROUD  84)
10  Eden HAZARD  (22  WILLIAN  60)

Unused subs: 
  1  Lepa ARRIZABALAGA
27  Andreas CHRISTENSEN
  8  Ross BARKLEY
20  Callum HUDSON-ODOI
 

  2  Kieran TRIPPIER
  6  Davinson SANCHEZ
  4  Toby ALDERWEIRELD
33  Ben DAVIES

  8  Harry WINKS
17  Moussa SISSOKO  (  3  Danny ROSE  85)

11  Erik LAMELA  (18  Fernando LLORENTE  70)
23  Christian ERIKSEN
  7  Heung-Min SON  (27  Lucas MOURA  80)

10  Harry KANE

Unused subs: 
22  Paulo GAZZANIGA
12  Victor WANYAMA
24  Serge AURIER
21  Juan FOYTH
 

.

Tottenham began giving away a couple of free-kicks around the box, which Chelsea didn’t make anything of, but, in the fifth minute, Sissoko headed the ball sideways in his own box, Higuain struck a shot with some slice that came back out off Lloris’ left hand post with him left standing.  Whether it had anything to do with Pochettino’s outburst at Dean on Saturday, but referee Marriner was letting a lot go against Spurs, with Kane and Son twice being fouled without getting anything. Chelsea even wanted a penalty. When Azpilicueta drove a cross in that struck Davies’ arm, but it wasn’t an unnatural position and he was reasonably close. It was a corner and from it, Tottenham messed up the clearance at the near post and Kovacic scissor-kicked the loose ball way too high.

Inconsistency in officiating saw Kovacic given two free-kicks for little contact and Hazard one for stopping playing when hassled by Sissoko when the Chelsea midfielder was on the ball. Spurs were almost their own worst enemy, as Lloris played the ball out of his box, but straight to Pedro. His ball inside was behind Hazard, but he set it back for Higuain, who curled a shot wide of the goal from 12 yards with eighteen minutes gone.

Sissoko won the ball 20 yards out, then lost it, allowing Higuain to be played through. Hugo came  out to grab it at his feet, not realising that the linesman had already flagged for offside. Chelsea were getting numbers around Spurs when on the ball and were crowding out white shirts when they looked to go forward. The home team got the hump when Spurs returned the ball to Chelsea when Trippier needed treatment after Hazard had hit him across his face with his forearm. Luiz chested it up in the air and played it back to the goalkeeper, then started having a go at Harry Kane when he closed the keeper down. Azpilicueta got involved to try and wind things up and disrupt our game.

It proved counter-productive, as Luiz lost Son in the next attack and only Alonso’s tackle robbed him of a shooting chance. Neither side’s passing was fluent and Chelsea’s goal came under threat when Trippier flashed a free-kick into the area and the Chelsea stand-in goalkeeper took out Rudiger in his attempt to reach the ball. Son also hit a cross low across the face of goal, with Cabellero not getting a touch on it, but there was no white shirt beyond the players in the middle to finish it off. The level of Marriner’s incompetence reached a new low when Pedro ran into Lamela on the edge of the Chelsea box and he got the free-kick !

Kane’s quick free-kick saw him break forward and hit a shot that was deflected wide for a corner.  Both sides were giving the ball away unnecessarily, but a minute before half time, Harry Winks almost replicated Eriksen’s goal of last season when Kane rolled the ball in front of him 23 yards out and his shot dipped over Cabellero and rebounded out off the bar.  Then  Son out-paced Kovacic and his cross was hit low across goal with pace and Cabellero didn’t get a touch, but there was no white shirt on the far post beyond the defenders in the middle of the goal to finish it off.

The game got to half-time without a goal and somewhat unsurprisingly as there were no shots on target from either side and it had been ragged, with Chelsea putting a lot of effort in to stop Spurs having time on the ball. Having played extra time on Sunday, would they be able to continue it for the full game.

When Chelsea kicked off the second half, Jorginho did what he often does at kick offs and wrestled Kane out of the way when he was trying to close the ball down. It took until the 53 rd minute for some goalmouth action, when Higuain went through and dinked a shot over Lloris as he came out at his feet, but the offside flag had been raised long before.

Chelsea worked the ball out form the back and Ben Davies was isolated on the left with two Chelsea players, with Azpilicueta releasing Pedro. He cut inside Alderweireld and his low shot hit Lloris’ heel as it went through his legs to allow Chelsea to take the lead. Willian took Hazard’s place, but it was the goal-scorer who turned the goal protector, when Eriksen made a run through a couple of challenges in the box before Pedro slid in to rob the ball from him as he prepared to shoot. Kane had an opportunity when Davies put in a cross from the left and his volley went wide, as Lamela dived in for a header in front of him just after the hour.

Sissoko won a corner as Luiz slid in and Trippier took it, but Toby headed it wide. Substitutions came  and went, but Spurs were moving the ball slowly and couldn’t find the space or movement to create a clear opening. Chelsea dropped a lot of men back behind the ball as soon as they lost it and Spurs were not making inroads into their half quickly enough to catch them short-handed.

Chelsea had just brought Giroud on as a sub and a long ball was headed on by him. Trippier was under no pressure, but as Lloris came out to claim the ball, the right back slipped it past him and into the net with only one player within 20 yards. It was a shocking mess up and one that certainly condemned Tottenham to defeat. And on a night when other teams around us all won, it was the worst ending and with Arsenal on Saturday not the greatest preparation.

To be honest, the Spurs team never looked like getting anything from this game and with late free-kicks all going Chelsea’s way, they ran time down to ease to the three points. Mentality or just a case of the opposition raising their game against us, Spurs failed to produce a performance for the second game running at a time in the season when the results we dug out in previous weeks looked a long way from the way we played tonight.

With some big games till to come, will Pochettino be able to gee them up to finish strongly, despite the title challenge (much as it was) slipping away. We need to secure third place, with other sides closing in on us after the last week’s games.

Tony Armitage

We didn't deserve to win, but the worrying thing is how we are playing and not getting at teams with pace or on the break.  Over the last two games we have looked tired and lacking ideas.  It could be down to tiredness, with the small squad meaning most players have played most of the games, but against Chelsea, it looked like us who had played 120 minutes and then gone through penalties on Sunday.

Poch needs to exercise his influence to pick the players up for Saturday and beyond, but I hope they don't rush Dele back too soon, otherwise it might mean more time out.