Tottenham Hotspur have continued their impressive run in the Premier League (PL) as they got the better of fellow London rivals Chelsea. Goals from Oliver Skipp and Harry Kane in the second half saw the home side take the bragging rights in the local affair with a 2-0 win which has seen pressure mount on Chelsea manager Graham Potter. The win sees Spurs fourth in the standings with 45 points while Chelsea are 10th in the table with 31 points.
Spurs make lightwork of Chelsea
Chelsea had beaten their rivals in all three previous Premier League meetings at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium without conceding a goal but rarely threatened - producing an expected goals total of just 0.41 - to continue that record as they produced another hugely underwhelming display.
The west Londoners have now won just once in their last 11 matches in all competitions - scoring just four goals in that time - while they have failed to record a victory in any away match since October 16.
Chelsea's hopes of ending that run looked to have been severely damaged when Hakim Ziyech was sent off in first-half stoppage time for a push into Emerson Royal's face, but the winger then had the red card rescinded by referee Stuart Attwell after he reviewed the incident on the pitchside monitor.
But the visitors could not capitalise on that reprieve and they were behind moments into the second half when Skipp thumped the ball past Kepa Arrizabalaga to score his first Tottenham goal, before the hosts sealed a crucial victory for their top-four hopes when Harry Kane turned home a corner at the far post eight minutes before full-time.
Pressure on Graham Potter
Incredibly, Chelsea are closer to the bottom three than the top four with Potter's side 10 points above the relegation zone, while they are now 14 points behind fourth-placed Spurs. The message coming from Chelsea after last weekend’s embarrassing home defeat to bottom-club Southampton was that Todd Boehly and his fellow owners retained faith in Potter.
Potter has now won just nine of his 26 matches as Chelsea boss since being recruited from Brighton in September, and their defeat in north London means his side are on their longest run without an away win in the Premier League in 22 years.
