Chelsea continued their dominance over London rivals Tottenham Hotspur with a 1-0 away victory in Saturday’s Premier League clash, thanks to a first-half strike from Brazil forward Joao Pedro — his first goal since August.
Enzo Maresca’s side bounced back strongly from last weekend’s shock home defeat to Sunderland, producing a composed and disciplined performance that left Spurs frustrated on their home turf.
The breakthrough came in the 34th minute when Moises Caicedo dispossessed Micky van de Ven near the edge of Tottenham’s penalty area before squaring for Joao Pedro, who calmly slotted the ball past Guglielmo Vicario from close range.
The Brazilian could have added more to his tally, forcing three sharp saves from Vicario, who also denied Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho. Meanwhile, Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez had little to do, making just one save throughout the game.
Despite dominating large spells of possession and creating several chances, Chelsea had to settle for a narrow win — something Maresca was still content with after the final whistle.
"I am happy with the 1-0, with the three points, especially because we kept the clean sheet," Maresca said. "We know we are a team that will score goals, but we also need to be better defensively."
Tottenham, on the other hand, struggled to find rhythm and rarely threatened the Chelsea goal. Frustration grew among the home fans, who booed loudly at full-time.
"We all sensed the frustration and emotions," Spurs manager Thomas Frank admitted. "It’s extremely painful. Chelsea were good, and we were definitely second best today."
The victory marked Chelsea’s sixth win in their last seven games across all competitions, lifting them to fourth place in the Premier League table with 17 points from 10 matches — just below Spurs on goal difference.
Tottenham’s woes against Chelsea continued, as they have now managed only one win in their last 14 Premier League meetings. As the final whistle blew, the traveling Blues fans couldn’t resist taunting their hosts with chants of “Tottenham Hotspur, it’s happened again.”