Tottenham Weren't Amazing at Chelsea But They Got What They Needed

30 November 2020 14:45

Tottenham's record at Stamford Bridge isn't particularly good.

They've only won away at Chelsea once in the Premier League era - that being a 3-1 victory in 2018 - with the west London ground often the scene of disappointment and sometimes humiliation.

Whether that be the Battle of the Bridge in 2016, a 2-1 loss having taken the lead later that year or various 3-0 or 4-0 losses, it's just not a venue that offers much optimism for Spurs supporters.

So all things considered, a draw that sees the north London side lead the Premier League - top of the top flight for the first time after ten or more games since January 1985 - at the start of a pretty ominous looking set of fixtures, is a pretty good one, right?

Right.

OK, there are plenty of things to be said for the approach taken by Jose Mourinho. While the first half of the goalless affair showed Tottenham as the potentially dangerous counter attacking outfit, the second was pretty dour, with Giovani Lo Celso's brain fade at the very end of the fixture the only large opportunity the visitors had to land that sucker punch.

We didn't see Tottenham at their most electric going forward, but that shouldn't be particularly surprising, especially if you look at their run of Premier League results following the 3-3 draw with West Ham in October.

Joe Rodon impressed on his first start for Tottenham | Clive Rose/Getty Images

The Burnley, Brighton and West Brom games were all approached with a clear emphasis on building a platform from defence. They were pretty disgusting games to watch, but it was clear a stronger unit at the back was required after a few dodgy defensive performances.

Those victories set Spurs up well to do an even bigger containing job on Manchester City. They rarely looked threatened against Pep Guardiola's side, picking them off on the counter for an impressive 2-0 win.

The draw with Chelsea wasn't quite as comfortable, but it did show Tottenham are now more than comfortable playing in that deep, tight style.

The defence had started the season pretty averagely but having conceded just once in their last five games, Spurs have the best defensive record in the Premier League so far this term, something they haven't been able to brag about since the days of prime Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld.