Tottenham Hotspur’s victory in the howling wind and rain was forged in a single destructive intervention.
Cole Palmer slamming his knee into Matheus Fernandes was a bolt of electricity sparking this game into life.
Within 15 minutes, Spurs had scored twice and Palmer had received his second yellow card.
Fully De Zerb'd victory
It was a gritty, muscular, emotional win for Spurs – yet it was built, subtly, on a tactical battle won by Roberto de Zerbi, whose high-octane football creates a psychological advantage by design.
The tactical pattern at Stamford Bridge meant Palmer’s aggressive act was only ever going to help Spurs.
Xabi Alonso, who has quietly abandoned his 3-4-3 recently, played a 4-4-2 with Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer deployed as false nines, although they were so false they were more like ghosts, pressing erratically to leave Chelsea’s two-man midfield repeatedly exposed.
By contrast, De Zerbi’s false nine, Omar Marmoush, knew exactly when to drop back, notably providing the wall-pass to his teammates and, by joining the midfield three, creating a four-on-two in the centre of the field:
This was the foundation of Tottenham’s decisive tactical advantage – and Alonso had no answer, perhaps because he is not used to the Premier League’s speed and physicality, characteristics De Zerbi has embraced.
Had Alonso played his usual 3-4-3 then one of his spare centre-backs could have followed Marmoush and shut this down.
Or, had he acknowledged De Zerbi’s press-baiting tactics and told his forwards to hold their position, he could have shut this down.
That Alonso did neither tells us he is still very much in a learning phase.
