Chelsea kept their hopes of a place in the Europa Conference League alive as goals from Trevoh Chalobah and Nicolas Jackson gave Mauricio Pochettino’s side a 2-0 victory over Tottenham on Thursday night.
The result extends the visitors’ dismal record at Stamford Bridge to just one league win in their 34 visits.
Having battled back from two goals down to secure an impressive point against Aston Villa last time out, Chelsea looked full of confidence during the opening quarter-hour.
Jackson saw an early one-on-one thwarted by Guglielmo Vicario before Mykhailo Mudryk missed the target with a couple of half-chances inside the box.
The hosts continued to probe for a breakthrough, and their attacking intent was rewarded in the 24th minute when Conor Gallagher’s inswinging free-kick was brilliantly headed into the far corner by Chalobah.
The one-way traffic showed no signs of slowing down as the first half progressed, with the lively Mudryk curling an effort agonisingly wide of the far post after good work from Cole Palmer.
For all Chelsea’s dominance, however, the visitors spurned a glorious opportunity to draw level before the break, as Cristian Romero directed a close-range header wastefully wide of the target.
Determined to build on that gilt-edged chance, Tottenham emerged after the restart with a renewed focus. Richarlison came close with an instinctive strike at the near post before Pedro Porro saw a cross-cum-shot parried away by Dorde Petrovic.
Needing a victory to keep their slim hopes of Champions League qualification alive, the visitors continued to search for an equaliser with time ticking into the final 20 minutes.
However, it was Chelsea who found the game’s all-important second goal, as Jackson looped a header into the far corner after Palmer’s sublime free-kick had cannoned against the woodwork.
That goal all but killed off Spurs’ hopes of a late fightback, as Mauricio Pochettino’s men eased through the closing stages to secure a morale-boosting victory and extend their impressive recent record on home soil to eight wins in their last 11 Premier League matches.
As for Tottenham, Ange Postecoglou will be hoping for a positive response against Liverpool on Sunday after a third successive league defeat.
