Key events
78 min: Spence hangs out a leg and brings down Fernandez with force. Then he goes nose to nose with an unhappy Cucurella. That’s the second time Spence has got away without being booked for a poor challenge. Spurs haven’t given a good account of themselves tonight at all.
77 min: James shepherds the ball back to Sanchez. In doing so, he catches Richarlison with a flailing arm. It’s all a bit too theatrical, and play is waved on.
76 min: Lavia replaces Gusto. “I know there has been talk of an orange card for years,” begins Brendan Large. “Prime example was Bentancur (although I thought it was a clear red). Could we have a rule where the player involved is not allowed to be taken off and also is warned that ANY further infringement will result in red? Then the player is punished by having to stay within the rules and also can’t be let off by being subbed.”
75 min: Kudus is booked for a clumsy barge on Cucurella.
74 min: Chelsea take another couple of shies at goal. Neto from a tight angle on the right. Parried by Vicario. James sprays a long-distance shot over the bar. At the risk of belabouring the point, how on earth is this just 0-1?
73 min: A triple change for Spurs. Porro, Kolo Muani and Simons – the substitute substituted – make way for Odobert, Udogie and Johnson.
71 min: Kudus cuts in from the right and tries to make himself enough space to shoot. He doesn’t quite manage it. He’s crowded out. The home fans are becoming super-frustrated.
70 min: Romero launches into a slide tackle as Pedro skitters down the left, and is very fortunate that the Chelsea player hurdles his leg. Had the Spurs captain made contact, that could have become very interesting.
69 min: Fernandez flies into Palhinha, studs grazing across the knee, and the referee whips his yellow card out immediately. That’s another challenge that could easily have resulted in a red card. Once again, both sets of players consider kicking off, but just about keep a lid on it. Still plenty of time for one of those classic bench-emptying Spurs-Chelsea brouhahas to erupt.
67 min: Garnacho is replaced by Gittens. He’s not particularly happy about it, but to be fair the sulk is very mild. A face on. A few shakes of the head. That’s it.
65 min: Porro throws long into the Chelsea box. Romero juggles the ball a bit, but can’t work space to either pass or shoot, and eventually clanks into Chalobah. Free kick, pressure off.
64 min: There’s not a lot going on, other than muttering in the stands.
62 min: James dinks a ball down the inside-left channel and very nearly finds Garnacho on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. Too much pace on the pass, and it’s a goal kick. The Tottenham defence once again totally absent.
60 min: James sends a viciously whipped free kick into the Spurs mixer from the right. Nobody in blue attacks it. Any touch towards goal would have caused Vicario a serious problem. Goal kick.
59 min: Simons is booked for cynically bringing down an in-flight Garnacho. Before the free kick can be taken, Spurs make a double change, replacing Bentancur and Danso with Romero and Richarlison.
58 min: Simons shovels a cute pass down the inside-right channel, nearly releasing Kudus into the Chelsea box. Kudus is hoping to chest down and shoot, but Chalobah extends a telescopic leg to divert the ball behind for a corner, from which nothing occurs. Sanchez celebrated that challenge with Chalobah like he would a goal.
56 min: Pedro barges Danso off the ball with absurd ease. He cuts back for Neto, who doesn’t quite catch his low drive. Chelsea come again, Caicedo winning yet another ball in the Spurs half and setting Garnacho on his way down the left. Garnacho cuts back for Neto, who can’t twist his body to get a shot on goal from six yards. How on earth is this just 0-1?
55 min: A simple long ball down the middle nearly undoes Spurs. Pedro can’t reach it before Vicario flies out of his box to head clear. Vicario has done well to keep the score respectable for Spurs.
54 min: Gusto strides down the right and curls long, in the hope of finding Pedro in the middle. The cross not quite right. It’s all Chelsea, just as it was in the first half.
52 min: James buzzes around Bentancur, simply refusing to allow the Spurs man advance the ball out of his final third. He eventually wins the ball, and it’s curled into the middle for Fernandez, who heads over carelessly from six yards. It should be 0-2. To be honest, Chelsea should be out of sight.
50 min: Porro bursts down the right and wins a corner. Kudus whips into a crowded six-yard box, but Sanchez rises high amid the melee and punches clear. Danso flings a throw in from the other flank. Fofana misjudges the flight and the ball nearly breaks to Bentancur, six yards out, but the required control isn’t there, and that man Caicedo is on point to hoick clear.
48 min: Fernandes tries to plant a low curler into the bottom right from distance. He’s given enough time by a Spurs defence all over the show, but doesn’t quite catch it. Vicario gathers.
47 min: Caicedo nicks the ball yet again and moves to advance down the left. Danso hangs out a cynical leg to trip the Chelsea man, and goes into the book. Spurs are in serious danger of losing their discipline. You could argue they’d done so already with those Bentancur and Spence challenges.
Spurs – who were booed off at the sound of the half-time whistle – get things going again. The players huddle and bark some instructions at each other. Players and home fans in a state of high agitation.
The xG data at the break: Chelsea are on 1.04, Spurs 0.01. For the hosts, the only way is up. Chelsea are very much on target for a fifth consecutive Premier League win over Spurs, and their sixth victory in seven visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Half-time postbag. “Our first thought is to go back and be safe. Shameful that our first thought is to pass back. Every time a blue shirt arrives in our peripheral vision we go back. We should not be scared” – Mark Goodchild
“Not a Chelsea fan by any means, but that was a nailed on red card for Bentancur. Booking James just adds insult to injury – he was only complaining because Bentancur wasn’t sent off” – Joshua Keeling
“Afternoon pints, you say? I got a free one this afternoon when I popped in to town to see daughter Anna at Bertie Mooney’s in Dundee and give her her pocket money, even though she’s 23. I think the technical term in the hospitality world is a ‘mispour’. What was I to do, refuse? I’m still there, eagerly awaiting the same thing to happen with a triple Macallan” – Simon McMahon
HALF TIME: Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Chelsea
… which may explain why Chelsea aren’t best pleased as the two teams leave the pitch for the break. A lot of complaining going on. They’ve been by some distance the better side, though; another goal or two wouldn’t have flattered them.
45 min +6: That Bentancur challenge wasn’t the best; another referee might have sent him off. But Jarred Gillet is letting an awful lot go this evening. And now Spence lands his studs on Neto’s boot. Play is waved on. Spurs have got away with a couple of poor challenges there.
45 min +5: Spurs launch their first meaningful attack of the evening, Kudus cutting in from the right and aiming a low drive across Sanchez and towards the bottom left. Sanchez parries strongly, the ball stubbornly refusing to sit up for Kolo Muani to tap home.
45 min +4: Chalobah is also booked for dissent. This Chelsea side aren’t finding it difficult to locate trouble right now.
45 min +3: Bentancur is booked. James – livid, because he wants his opponent sent off – sees yellow as well.
45 min +2: Bentancur catches James on the shin. Studs raking down the ankle. A loud scream as James stays down. It threatens to kick off, but the referee is across quickly to calm things down.
45 min +1: The first of six additional first-half minutes sees Van de Ven play a poor backpass that nearly releases Neto on goal. Vicario comes out of his box to blooter clear.
45 min: Danso steals the ball off Pedro near the centre circle, but there are no passing options ahead. He’s forced to turn tail, and when Bentancur thinks about sending the ball back to his keeper, the home crowd tell it as they see it. Their frustration at Tottenham’s attacking impotence clear for all to hear.
44 min: Gusto makes off down the right and cuts back for Pedro, who skelps a first-time shot goalwards from the penalty spot. It’s straight at Vicario, who nevertheless saves well with a strong hand, tipping over the bar. A few inches either side, and that would have been 0-2. Nothing comes of the resulting corner.
42 min: In the technical areas, Thomas Frank is hysterically gesticulating to the Spurs players, while Enzo Maresca is calmly applauding his. That just about sums it all up.
40 min: Spence nearly has his pocket picked out on the Chelsea right by Neto. He drags his man down but the referee waves play on. Hmm. Another referee on a different day might have awarded the free kick and booked Spence, but here we are. Spurs can’t keep carrying on like this.
38 min: A free kick out for Spurs on the left, and a chance to strike back quickly. Porro curls it in, but it’s so easy for Sanchez to pluck from the sky. Sanchez then looks long for Pedro, who can’t control the ball. That’s a let-off for Spurs, as Pedro would have been clear on goal otherwise. The home defence all over the shop.
36 min: That really had been coming. Spurs are tying themselves up in all sorts of knots as they attempt to pass it out from the back. Caicedo was utterly relentless there. Two 50-50 duels won in quick succession, before barging his way past Danso and teeing up his mate. What a wonderful all-action midfielder he is.
GOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Chelsea (Pedro 34)
Spurs play themselves into trouble again. Caicedo wins the ball down the inside-right channel off Spence. Spurs get the ball back, but then it’s Van de Ven’s turn to be stripped by Caicedo, who is buzzing around relentlessly. Caicedo enters the box, sees off Danso, and rolls across to Pedro, who whips into the top left. It had been coming.
33 min: If you gave Pedro his time again, he’d surely not try to trick the keeper by giving him the eyes and looking to slot at the near post. A shot towards the right-hand side of goal was surely the option.
