Sparkling start, but Chelsea hit back to win

A bright start faded away on Sunday afternoon, as we spurned an early two-goal lead to suffer defeat against Chelsea at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Goals from Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski saw us race into a 2-0 lead inside 11 minutes, but the visitors came storming back with four unanswered goals to take charge. Jadon Sancho scored their first before the break and Enzo Fernandez struck in between two Cole Palmer penalties as the Blues turned the game on its head in the second half.

Heung-Min Son made it 4-3 deep into stoppage time as a late rally yielded some hope, but it proved to be too little, too late as we suffered back-to-back defeats and stayed 11th in the table.

Boosted by the return to the side of defenders Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, there was a real positive feeling inside the stadium before kick-off with an atmosphere to match and we made a blistering start. Just five minutes had passed when Marc Cucurella slipped under no pressure, Brennan Johnson pounced on the ball and drove forwards before crossing for Solanke, who got in front of Levi Colwill to fire into the net.

Incredibly, six minutes later Cucurella lost his footing again when clearing the ball, Johnson again on hand to steal possession and find Pedro Porro, who played it infield to Kulusevski and the Sweden international advanced across the edge of the area before drilling low past Robert Sanchez. Unsurprisingly, Cucurella came straight over to the bench to change his boots before the game restarted!

We were forced into an early change as Romero’s comeback lasted just 15 minutes when he had to be replaced by Radu Dragusin, while the frantic opening to the game continued. Chelsea responded quickly to their deficit, pulling a goal back on 17 minutes when Sancho skipped past a couple of tackles as he came in off the left flank and arrowed a shot in off the far post. And they almost levelled shortly after but Palmer missed his kick eight yards out in front of goal.

The chances just kept coming, Son curling half a yard over the bar at one end before Fraser Forster made a fine double save, first low down to his left to push away Palmer’s 20-yard drive and then up quickly to stop Pedro Neto with an outstretched leg. We then hit the crossbar, Pape Matar Sarr heading Son’s corner against the woodwork, while Solanke needed a touch more power on a close-range effort to divert Son’s cross past Sanchez.

The second period started in the same vein, Sancho playing a one-two with Cucurella inside the area and forcing Forster into a strong one-handed save, with the goalkeeper then pushing away a Fernandez effort away for a corner. Chelsea were then given the opportunity to level with an hour gone, Bissouma upending Moises Caicedo in the area with a rash tackle and Palmer sent Forster the wrong way from the penalty spot.

The visitors were on top at that stage and, after van de Ven had headed a decent chance wide from Pedro Porro’s free-kick, Chelsea took the lead. Palmer was the instigator, keeping the ball with close control in the area before hitting a shot which deflected up nicely for Fernandez to fire home on the half-volley from 12 yards. And it was another Palmer penalty that put Chelsea in control, Sarr bundling into the back of the Blues attacker, who then beat Forster with a ‘panenka’ chip with his spot-kick in the 83rd minute.

We fashioned a few late chances, James Maddison working a yard of space but unable to keep his curling effort down, Son denied from close range by Sanchez and Pedro Porro’s volley on the rebound from his blocked free-kick just skidding past the post. From the corner, Maddison skipped along the byline and cut back for Son to drill home our third, but that was the last of our opportunities as the spoils went to Chelsea.

Match data

Goals: Spurs – Solanke 5, Kulusevski 11; Chelsea – Sancho 17, Palmer 61 (pen), 84 (pen), Fernandez 73.

Yellow cards: Spurs – Sarr, Bissouma; Chelsea – Lavia, Pedro Neto, Sanchez.

Referee: Anthony Taylor.

Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Weather: Light rain, moderate breeze, seven degrees.

Attendance: 61,184.