‘First signs of weakness’ – How the national media reacted to Chelsea’s chaotic win at Tottenham

The national media have described Chelsea’s 4-1 away win over Tottenham Hotspur on Monday night as a ‘sensory overload’. Dejan Kulusevski broke the deadlock inside the opening ten minutes before Cole Palmer managed to find the Blues an equaliser from 12-yards just after the half-hour mark.

Amid the chaos of goals, missed chances, cautions and countless VAR reviews, there was also two reds cards and plenty other drama. So, with that being said, football.london has taken a look at how the national media reacted to Chelsea’s incredible win over Tottenham.

The Guardian
“The record books will show that Chelsea won it when Nicolas Jackson, who had spent much of the night finding new and mysterious ways to miss easy chances, slid a low shot past Guglielmo Vicario in the 75th minute,” wrote Jacob Steinberg.

“Really, though, it was necessary to go back to the start to understand how Tottenham lost their unbeaten record, failed to return to the top of the league and allowed Mauricio Pochettino to find the first signs of weakness in Angeball, punishing that daring high line via the simple tactic of repeatedly kicking the ball into space for Raheem Sterling to attack.

“At times it was like watching an overexcited toddler experience a sensory overload,” Steinberg added. “If anything, though, Spurs were guilty of having too much fun.”

The Daily Mail
“Ange Postecoglou went to a West End performance of King Lear last week,” wrote Oliver Holt. “If he thought he was watching an evening of madness unfold in front of him at Wyndham’s Theatre, English football turned to him triumphantly at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Monday night and said: ‘Hold my beer.’

“As the Spurs boss watched his nine-man team succumb to its first defeat under his reign amid a battalion of red and yellow cards, disallowed goals, injuries and VAR checks, he could have been forgiven for thinking that the chaos of Lear on the heath had nothing on Spurs-Chelsea on a Monday night in November.

“The defeat, Postecoglou’s first in the English game, meant Manchester City stayed at the top of the table and gave former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino a morale-boosting win on his first return to the club where he enjoyed so much success in his five and a half years in charge.”

The Mirror
“It’s fair to say Udogie and Romero understood the importance of the fixture – it’s no secret Tottenham fans consider the Chelsea match to be up there with their derby with Arsenal,” wrote Jake Polden. “But in being so fired up – too fired up – for the match they undid everything Postecoglou expertly drew up in the tactics room during the week and, ultimately, let their team down.