It was a case of master versus apprentice this week as Jose Mourinho once again returned to Stamford Bridge, this time at the helm of London-rivals Tottenham Hotspur as they took on Frank Lampard’s Chelsea. A capital city derby with an added subplot made this one that we just had to watch.
With the race for the top four heating up, two of the contenders went head to head on the weekend and fans from the north and south of the capital city poured into the Bridge to watch the action unfold. A win for Spurs would’ve seen them leapfrog Chelsea into that coveted fourth place, however Chelsea proved too strong on the day, despite the assist from VAR. Yes, not for the first time this season and certainly not for the last, the video assistant referee took centre stage when Giovanni lo Celso’s horrendous challenge on Cesar Azpilicueta was deemed to have not been a red card offence – a decision they later admitted was incorrect.
With current form in the top-four-chasing pack indifferent to say the least, the result of this match ahead of kick off was anyone’s guess. But it was Oliver Giroud – a man who was linked with Spurs during the January transfer window – who popped up to inflict the first blow, repaying the faith that Lampard had shown in him to lead the line, one of four changes that Mourinho's former star midfielder made to Chelsea's starting line up. That was followed by a sweet strike from Marcos Alonso, which finished off a flowing move from the blues. Some late Spurs pressure yielded an own goal from Antonio Rudiger, but it was just not enough.
In the battle of the Bridge it was London's blue contingent that came out on top as Chelsea take poll position in the chase for Champions League football. But this race is far from over...
Photography by SoccerBible.