Trevoh Chalobah and Nicolas Jackson scored as Chelsea dealt a huge blow to Tottenham Hotspur's hopes of qualifying for next season's UEFA Champions League, recording a 2-0 derby win over Mauricio Pochettino's old club at Stamford Bridge.
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Exactly eight years on from the memorable "Battle of the Bridge" between the teams, which saw nine Spurs players booked in a fiery 2-2 draw that confirmed Leicester City as champions, Chelsea inflicted more woe upon their rivals.
Spurs paid for lacklustre set-piece defending midway through the first half as Chalobah headed in from Conor Gallagher's free-kick, and on 72 minutes Jackson pounced to head in after Cole Palmer had rattled the crossbar from another dead-ball.
Ange Postecoglou's side were far from their free-flowing best and have now lost three straight Premier League games. They stay fifth, seven points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa, with only one game in hand.
Chelsea, meanwhile, climb above West Ham United into eighth, just three points adrift of Manchester United in sixth.
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| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
37 | +20 | 68 |
| 5 |
Spurs
TOT
|
37 | +10 | 63 |
| 6 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
37 | +13 | 60 |
| 7 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
37 | +21 | 57 |
| 8 |
Man Utd
MUN
|
37 | -3 | 57 |
| 9 |
West Ham
WHU
|
37 | -12 | 52 |
How the match unfolded
The Blues went agonisingly close to a fifth-minute lead as Jackson raced through on goal to slot his effort under Guglielmo Vicario, but Micky van de Ven raced back to hook it off the line and Palmer could not sort his feet out on the rebound.
Chelsea were ahead after 24 minutes, though, as Chalobah met Gallagher's deep free-kick with a looping header into the top-right corner, the goal being confirmed by VAR following a check for a possible foul by Marc Cucurella.
Mykhailo Mudryk went close with a curling effort as Spurs continued to toil, the visitors' best chance of the first half coming when Cristian Romero headed Pedro Porro's free-kick wide.
Postecoglou cut an animated figure before half-time, and his side improved after the restart, but Chelsea could have had a second when Palmer shot over at the end of a promising break.
Chelsea did double their advantage with 18 minutes to play, the opportunistic Jackson heading into an unguarded net after Palmer's free-kick clattered off the woodwork, with Vicario at full stretch.
Spurs never looked like responding from there, and they now need a minor miracle to secure a top-four finish.
Pochettino haunts former employers
Having also overseen Chelsea's memorable 4-1 win in November's return fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Pochettino completed a league double over his former employers.
He is the first coach to ever beat Spurs home and away in a single Premier League campaign having previously managed them in the competition.
The Argentinian's first season at Stamford Bridge may not have gone entirely to plan, but there may just be green shoots of recovery emerging in the closing weeks of the campaign.
Having endured a run of one win in 14 home Premier League games between March and November last year (seven draws, six losses), Chelsea – who face West Ham next – have now won eight of their last 10 on their own turf (one draw, one defeat).
Set-pieces costing Spurs
Spurs have a set-piece problem. Arsenal ruthlessly exploited some slack marking from their neighbours to score two goals from corners in Sunday's north London derby, and on Thursday, it was two free-kicks that undid Postecoglou's men.
Prior to this game, Spurs had conceded 12 goals from set-pieces, excluding penalties, in the Premier League this season. Only Man United (15.3) and Burnley (14.9) had allowed opponents a higher cumulative Expected Goals (xG) figure from such situations than their 14.3.
They did not learn their lesson, Emerson Royal and Brennan Johnson getting nowhere near Chalobah as he headed home from a routine delivery to the back post for the opener.
Those fine margins could prove incredibly costly, with Spurs now a long way adrift of top-four rivals Aston Villa, with daunting fixtures against Liverpool and Manchester City still to come.
Club reports
Final Premier League fixtures
Key facts
Chelsea have won eight of their last 10 home Premier League games (D1 L1), after winning just one of the 14 before that (D7 L6).
Spurs have lost each of their last three Premier League games, as many defeats as they suffered in their previous 16 in the competition (W10 D3).
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino is the first manager to complete a Premier League double over Spurs, having previously managed them in the competition.
Spurs have conceded 22 goals from set-piece situations this season in the Premier League (including penalties), with only Nottingham Forest (26) and Sheffield United (23) shipping more, while Spurs last conceded more in a single season in the competition in 2007/08 (27).
