Tottenham win 2-0 at Chelsea as Palmer is sent off
· BehindLines newsroom
Tottenham Hotspur beat Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Saturday 24 October. Both goals came in the final quarter of an hour, after a first half largely controlled by the visitors, who had the ball around 70 per cent of the time before the break, according to Sky Sports.
In the 77th minute, Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders turned a Mateus Fernandes corner into his own net while under pressure from Tottenham centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke. Three minutes later, Cole Palmer was shown a second yellow card for a challenge on Conor Gallagher and left his side with ten men. ESPN describes a late foul on the Tottenham midfielder. In the 87th minute, Mathys Tel settled the game with a low, angled finish at the end of a run that began deep on the left.
A rare win in this derby
Tottenham seldom win at their London neighbours, and Sky Sports called it the team’s best display since Roberto De Zerbi took charge. It was also their second win in six days. In its analysis, ESPN reads the result as a sign that the Italian coach’s project is starting to take shape after a difficult start to the season.
What it changes
For Tottenham, who sat in the bottom half of the table before the round, the three points bring some relief and a performance benchmark against a side established near the top. For Chelsea, the evening leaves two issues: their goalkeeper’s error on the opening goal and the dismissal of Palmer, one of their main creators. A second caution normally carries an automatic one-match ban in the Premier League, which would keep the attacking midfielder out of the next league fixture. The NBC Sports recap goes over both goals and the red card in detail. For supporters on both sides, the derby marks a reversal of momentum, at least for one evening.