Enzo Fernandez’s Goal Seals Tense Victory for Chelsea Against Tottenham

Chelsea climbed back into the fourth position with a narrow 1-0 win over a lacklustre Tottenham Hotspur, making Ange Postecoglou the first Spurs manager to suffer defeat in his opening four Premier League (PL) fixtures against Chelsea.

Enzo Maresca’s side almost opened the scoring in the first minute when Trevoh Chalobah tried to find Nicolas Jackson. The ball deflected off Micky van de Ven, nearly creating a chance for Jackson, but ultimately struck the post.

Tottenham appeared vulnerable defensively, almost conceding when Marc Cucurella’s pass went straight to Malo Gusto. Gusto’s shot, however, found only the side netting.

The Spurs defence continued to struggle, allowing Jackson to send a shot flying over the bar when he found himself unmarked in the penalty area. Though Guglielmo Vicario seemed shaky in goal, he made an impressive save to deflect Jadon Sancho’s cross over the bar after Pedro Neto set him up.

Ultimately, a lack of sharpness in the final third from Spurs ensured that the teams went into the break deadlocked.

Chelsea finally broke the deadlock in the 50th minute, with Enzo Fernández powering a header home from Cole Palmer’s delightful cross, punishing the hosts for their poor defending.

The scoreline could have widened when Moisés Caicedo unleashed a stunning volley following a Fernández set-piece, but a lengthy VAR review revealed an offside in the build-up, sparing Tottenham any further embarrassment.

Moments later, it seemed the north Londoners had equalised with a speculative strike from Pape Matar Sarr that slipped past Robert Sánchez, only for VAR to intervene again—this time ruling out the goal due to Sarr’s foul on Caicedo. Tottenham’s attack looked minimal, yet they almost pulled off a remarkable leveller late in the match when Sánchez denied Son Heung-min’s sliding effort from Brennan Johnson’s cross.

This encounter was far from a classic, especially considering the thrilling matches these clubs have delivered in the past; however, Chelsea will be pleased with their 10th win in 13 PL meetings against their rivals from north of the River Thames.

For Tottenham, this marks their ninth away defeat in the PL this season, trailing only Leicester City (11) and Southampton (12) for the most losses on the road. They now find themselves in a disappointing 14th place on the table.

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