Tottenham claimed a 2-0 win at Chelsea, a result that gave them a second Premier League victory in a week and their first league away win in this fixture since April 2018. It was not a classic. The deadlock was broken by a comedic own goal from Mike Penders, the young Belgian goalkeeper deputising for the injured Emi Martínez, and Chelsea’s hopes effectively ended when Cole Palmer was sent off. Mathys Tel added the second to lift Spurs to 12th.
Roberto De Zerbi cut a tense figure in his technical area for much of the match, but he ended it celebrating Tottenham’s first win at Stamford Bridge since 2018. For Xabi Alonso, it was a first home defeat of the season and one of Chelsea’s worst performances since he was appointed in the summer. Chelsea were caught out at both ends: Penders’ inexperience proved costly and they struggled without João Pedro leading the line. Alonso’s decision not to start Danny Welbeck was a strange one.
Chelsea never settled into their 4-2-4 shape. Palmer and Morgan Rogers operated as false nines without providing a clear outlet, Pedro Neto was not receiving the ball in dangerous positions on the right and Geovany Quenda, making his first start since joining from Sporting Lisbon, was tentative on the left. Spurs, by contrast, grew into the game. Their midfield of Mateus Fernandes, Sandro Tonali and James Maddison outplayed and outnumbered Moisés Caicedo and Jordan Henderson, even if the visitors lacked a clinical touch. Mohammed Kudus and Tonali sent efforts off target, Tel wasted chances to run at Josh Acheampong and Omar Marmoush, preferred to Dominic Solanke as the No 9, failed to take the best chance of the first half when he shot too close to Penders from Andy Robertson’s cutback.
Antonin Kinsky saved from Henderson after giving the ball away, but Chelsea created little before half-time. Maddison, who had been a doubt before the game, played well before making way for Conor Gallagher, and Fernandes was the best player on the pitch, running the game for Spurs. Chelsea produced only random bursts, with Neto testing Kinsky, and the changes that followed were more positive for Spurs: Solanke and Pedro Porro replaced Marmoush and Robertson, while Estêvão came on for Quenda and soon shot into the side netting after bursting in from the right.
The temperature rose after a clash between Palmer and Fernandes led to aggro between the benches, but with quality low it was fitting that the opening goal arrived in farcical circumstances. In the 77th minute, Chelsea set-piece coach Austin MacPhee was busy telling four home players to stay high as Spurs won a corner. The box emptied, Fernandes delivered from the left and Penders got his angles horribly wrong. The 21-year-old, who had struggled in the air when Chelsea beat Leeds in the Carabao Cup last month, was thrown by a challenge from Jan Paul van Hecke and watched his weak punch spin into his empty net.
Chelsea were still coming to their senses when any hope of a comeback disappeared. Palmer, already booked after his row with Fernandes, received a second yellow for a lunge on Gallagher. It was Chelsea’s first red card of the season and came a day after Alonso had spoken about emotional control helping his side improve their disciplinary record. Down to 10 men, Chelsea faded. Tel skipped in from the left and clinched the points with a crisp low shot from 20 yards.
The numbers underlined the scale of Tottenham’s result. It was only their second away win in 35 Premier League attempts against Chelsea and their first since a 3-1 victory in April 2018. Spurs also beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge while keeping a clean sheet for the first time since December 1986, when they won 2-0. Penders became the second-youngest goalkeeper to score an own goal in the Premier League, after Illan Meslier, and Palmer’s dismissal was Chelsea’s 100th red card in the competition, excluding rescinded cards, making them the third team to reach the milestone after Everton and Arsenal.