Tottenham 5-3 Chelsea: Harry Kane shines AGAIN and Jose Mourinho blows his top as five-star Spurs stun the Blues
- Diego Costa gave Chelsea an 18th minute lead at White Hart Lane
- But Harry Kane hit back later in the first half for Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham
- Danny Rose notched just before half-time before Andros Townsend netted from the spot
- Kane scored a marvellous fourth after the break, sweeping beyond Thibaut Courtois
- Eden Hazard got a goal back after a one-two with Cesc Fabregas to make it 4-2 before Nacer Chadli added a fifth
- John Terry nodded in for the Blues late on to set up a tense finale
Nobody gets four against Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea. No, seriously, they don’t. It hasn’t happened in two terms here. So when Harry Kane left Nemanja Matic, by popular consent the most consistent defensive midfield player of the season so far, on his backside and finished smartly past Thibaut Courtois, Tottenham Hotspur were in uncharted territory.
And then they got five. Yes, five. Five past a Mourinho-mean defence. Five past John Terry and the man mountains surrounding him. Five past a team that seven days ago appeared to be in command of the Premier League, after back to back seasonal victories away at Stoke City and at home to West Ham United. Chelsea had the toughest Christmas programme but looked to be making mincemeat of it. Even the draw at Southampton was unfortunate.
Then this. Not so much a defeat, as a dismantling. When Chelsea took the lead, against the run of play after 18 minutes, the appeared set fair for more of the usual. Tottenham had looked lively early on at Stamford Bridge a month ago and the game then shifted, almost inevitably, in Chelsea’s favour. This was shaping up as a rerun. Tottenham looking good, a slap in the face on the counter attack from Chelsea, and game over. We had underestimated the restorative powers of local hero Kane.
Diego Costa gave Premier League leaders Chelsea a lead after striking into an unguarded net at Tottenham on New Year's Day
Oscar slid a clever ball back to the Spain international to tap home in front of a stunned White Hart Lane
Costa celebrates with Oscar, Nemanja Matic and Eden Hazard after giving the visitors the lead in the 18th minute
The impressive Harry Kane brilliantly fired in an equaliser from outside the box later in the first half
Kane danced off to celebrate in front of the Spurs supporters after scoring again for Mauricio Pochettino's men
Left back Danny Rose came from nowhere to add a second for Tottenham on the stroke of half-time
Andros Townsend then scored a third from the penalty spot after Harry Kane was brought down by Gary Cahill in the area
MATCH FACTS, STATS, TABLES AND RATINGS BY ROB DRAPER
Tottenham: Lloris 7; Walker 6.5, Fazio 5.5, Vertonghen 7, Rose 6.5 (Davies 76 - 6); Bentaleb 7, Mason 6 (Dembele 14 - 7); Chadli 8, Eriksen 7.5, Townsend 7 (Paulinho 66 - 6); Kane 9
Subs not used: Vorm, Chiriches, Stambouli, Soldado
Booked: Paulinho, Kane, Bentaleb
Goals: Kane 30, 52; Rose 44; Townsend 45 (pen); Chadli 78
Manager: Mauricio Pochettino 8
Chelsea: Courtois 6; Ivanovic 6, Cahill 5, Terry 7, Azpilicueta 5; Matic 5.5, Fabregas 5.5; Willian 5.5 (Salah 72 - 5.5), Oscar 5 (Ramires 46 - 5.5), Hazard 8; Costa 7
Subs not used: Cech, Zouma, Mikel, Remy, Drogba
Booked: Fabregas
Goals: Costa 18; Hazard 61; Terry 87
Manager: Jose Mourinho 6
Referee: Phil Dowd 6
Attendance: 35,903
Man of the match: Harry Kane
He was quite, quite brilliant. He scored two goals, won a penalty for another and made the fifth. He dragged Tottenham back into this match, then saw them clear of Chelsea, a sublime mix of skill, will and a fabulous understanding with forward partner Nacer Chadli. Kane was everywhere, dropping deep to collect, pulling wide to receive, darting inside to get within sight of goal. The hallmark of a good player, Chadli looks for him constantly, Christian Eriksen, too.
At Stamford Bridge, he started brightly and fizzled out under the attention of John Terry. Here, he showed intelligence in going up against Gary Cahill, if possible, and it worked. Kane bolstered his own chances of being rewarded with international football this year, while with every stride causing us to question Cahill’s status. The England man cut a forlorn figure by the end, reduced to taking his frustration out on his young opponent by kicking him in the small of the back while he was on the ground. The ball had already gone out of play. It was a mean trick and smacked of desperation.
So welcome to 2015. If the second half of this Premier League campaign stays as lively as its first day, we are in for thrills. Not that Mourinho will be appreciative, mind you. His teams do not lose to hockey scores; or surrender a lead held since August.
Technically, Chelsea are still joint top and having had considerably harder Christmas fixtures than Manchester City that is no disaster. Yet considering that Frank Lampard scored City’s winner against Sunderland and Chelsea started 2015 three points clear, this is what constitutes a bad day at Special Towers.
Tottenham are clearly under instruction to play high tempo from the start against Chelsea and as early as the fourth minute, Chadli cut inside and forced a saved from Courtois. Soon after, a typically lively run by Kane down the right flank was clipped back across goal and blocked, falling to Chadli again, whose overhead kick was clawed out the Chelsea goalkeeper.
It was an impressive start, but a minute later Chelsea dashed the early optimism. Courtois began the move with a simply massive throw that found Eden Hazard on the touchline, some 60 yards away. His run left Danny Rose in its wake, ending with a low shot that came out via the inside of the far post. It fell to Oscar who shot across goal, the ball diverted in at the far post by Costa – a classic poacher’s conversion.
Kane added his second and Tottenham's fourth with a smart finish across Thibaut Courtois and into his net
Hazard smashed a goal back for Chelsea after a clever one-two with Cesc Fabregas, who picked up another assist
But Nacer Chadli added a fifth, which made the three New Year points safe for Tottenham
John Terry pounced in the 87th to claw a third back for Chelsea but they were already a beaten side
Kane wheeled away in celebration as Tottenham stunned Chelsea after the visitors had taken a lead
John Terry couldn't get anywhere near Rose's effort as defensive partner Cahill despairingly dove to retrieve the situation
Townsend leaps in the air to celebrate the third on an evening to shock the Blues in north London
No doubt it would have been different if Chelsea had been awarded a penalty in the 24th minute. After the controversy over the penalty not given at Southampton – Cesc Fabregas was wrongly booked for diving instead – this will surely be added to Mourinho’s Big Book of Official Grievances.
Costa pulled the ball back and Jan Vertonghen had gone to ground trying to cut out the pass to Oscar. In doing so, the ball got trapped by his arm. Referee Phil Dowd waved play on – mistakenly. It wasn’t as if the offence couldn’t be seen in real time either.
And so the locals prepared grimly for an evening of tension. Instead: delight. Just when Tottenham seemed unable to wrest the ball from Chelsea’s midfield, Kane conjured a goal from nowhere and turned the game. It was an equaliser entirely of his creation, a run from the right that seemed to initially trouble Chelsea less than it should.
Certainly, there should have been more urgency in the defending by the time Oscar was hassling him – ineffectually – just at the moment Kane sized up his opportunity and struck a low shot across his body past Courtois. Oscar paid for this with his place in the team, giving way to Ramires at half-time.
By then, Chelsea had conceded two more and White Hart Lane was euphoric. The first stemmed from another rare error by a Chelsea stalwart, Cesar Azpilicueta giving the ball away and inadvertently setting up a strong run by Eriksen, feeding the ball to Chadli, now into Chelsea’s back four. Chadli drew an excitable Courtois but his shot hit the far post, bouncing out into the path of Rose, reacting quicker than Cahill. Terry saw the expanse of goal left open and threw his body across it, but Rose’s finish was magnificent – he went narrow at the near post, the one part of the target Terry was powerless to cover.
Terry, Nemanja Matic and Fabregas find themselves in a pickle while in possession
Brazilian Willian slides in to dispossesses Chadli in the early throws of the London derby
Jose Mourinho berated referee Phil Dowd over the amount of time it was taking Hugo Lloris to take goal kicks
Ryan Mason gives the signal to the Tottenham bench after picking up a knock in the 14th minute, with Moussa Dembele replacing him
Harry Kane hunts down Chelsea's Cahill as the central defender knocks the ball back towards his goalkeeper
| MINS | KM | MILES | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tottenham Hotspur | 116.3 | 72.3 | |
| Christian Eriksen | 90 | 12.7 | 7.9 |
| Harry Kane | 90 | 11.4 | 7.1 |
| Nabil Bentaleb | 90 | 11.2 | 7.0 |
| Chelsea | 112.8 | 70.1 | |
| Cesc Fabregas | 90 | 12.1 | 7.5 |
| Nemanja Matic | 90 | 11.9 | 7.4 |
| Gary Cahill | 90 | 10.3 | 6.4 |
| Data courtesy of the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, the Official Player Rating Index of the Barclays Premier League | |||
Chelsea barely had time to regroup from this unexpected reverse when Tottenham scored their third. Cahill – how anyone can consider him better than Terry is a mystery – lunged in needlessly on Kane, mistimed a tackle on the edge of the area and Dowd had no choice but to point to the spot. Andros Townsend stepped up and made Courtois’s presence an irrelevance. Mourinho’s face told its own story. So did the names on the Tottenham score-sheet: Kane, Rose, Townsend. It is not just Southampton that can produce English talent.
A huge reaction was expected from Chelsea after half-time but Tottenham – and Kane – were first to the punch. He made it 4-1 after 52 minutes and the sight of Matic momentarily bamboozled was further evidence of Tottenham’s spell.
Of course, in the circumstances, it would be unthinkable that there wouldn’t be a Chelsea comeback at all and it came after 61 minutes when Federico Fazio was caught in possession by Hazard. He sped on goal, played a one-two with Fabregas, and finished leaving Hugo Lloris no chance. The locals fell quiet, no doubt fearful of the embarrassment if they let such an advantage slip – but not for long.
There were 78 minutes gone, when Chadli concluded the contest; again Kane was the provider, feeding the ball inside from the left, Chadli’s shot catching a slight deflection off Terry. Chelsea’s captain did his best to make amends with three minutes to go – scoring the goal that keeps Manchester City from sole occupancy of the top spot.
A crowd in the six yard box missed a Hazard cross and the suddenly prolific Terry – he now has three goals in four games – tapped in at the far post. It makes the numbers at the top quite mind-boggling, but all eyes will be on the bigger picture, Chelsea’s recovery from here, and how Mourinho deals with the most unexpected reverse of his career in England. Five?
Cahill was given the runaround by Kane all afternoon and appeared to stamp on the striker late in the piece
The defender can be seen going through the man in a bid to get the ball
Cahill also seemed to stamp on Kane's ankle as the striker lay on the ground
Rose fails to get off the ground as Costa quickly moves the Chelsea attack on in the first half
Nemanja Matic attempts to steel a march on Kane, who wriggled clear of his marker in midfield
Chadli barges Oscar away in midfield as Spanish midfielder Fabregas watches on
Jose Mourinho (right) shares a moment with Tottenham striker Roberto Soldado prior to kick-off at White Hart Lane
Courtois looks on dejected after conceding the fourth during what proved to be a lively encounter
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2893663/Tottenham-5-3-Chelsea-Harry-Kane-shines-Jose-Mourinho-blows-five-star-Spurs-stun-Blues.html#ixzz3NeSI9RD1
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