TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR  1  (0)
(win 5-4 on penalties)
CHELSEA  1  (1)

 

Date :  –  Tuesday 29th September 2020 Kick off : –  19.45
Competition : –  League Cup Fourth Round Venue :  –  Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Crowd : – 0,000
Referee : –  Lee Mason (Lancashire) Linesmen : –  Mr. Mark Scholes; Mr. Timothy Wood
Fourth official : –  Andre Marriner
Weather :  Chilly, overcast
Spurs kicked off and attacked the Paxton Road end in the first half

 

  TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR   CHELSEA
  1.  Hugo LLORIS  (c)  16.  Edouard MENDY
     
25. Japhet TANGANGA    (10.  Harry KANE  70)  28. Cesar AZPILICUETA  (c)
  4. Toby ALDERWEIRELD  14. Fikayo TOMORI
  15. Eric DIER  15. Kurt ZOUMA
 21. Ben CHILWELL  (33.  EMERSON Palmieri  66)
24. Serge AURIER   
30. Gedson FERNANDES  (5.  Pierre-Emile HOJBJERG  63)    5. JORGINHO 
17. Moussa SISSOKO 17. Mateo KOVACIC    (7.  N’Golo KANTE  70)
28.
Tanguy NDOMBELE
   
  3. Sergio REGUILON  20. Callum HUDSON-ODOI
 19. Mason MOUNT
 11. Timo WERNER
11.  Erik LAMELA      
23. Steven BERGWIJN  (27.  Lucas MOURA  67)
 18. Olivier GIROUD  (9.  Tammy ABRAHAM  76)
   
Substitutes Substitutes
12.  Joe HART    1. Kepa ARRIZIBALAGA
  6. Davinson SANCHEZ  24. Reece JAMES
33. Ben DAVIES  29. Kai HAVERTZ
  2. Matt DOHERTY    8. Ross BARKLEY

 

Manager :  Jose Mourinho Manager :  Frank Lampard
Kit supplier : –  Nike Kit supplier : –  Nike
Shirt Sponsor : –  AIA Shirt Sponsor : –  3
Colours : – Colours : –  (blue socks were worn instead of white)
Images of kits courtesy of the marvellous Colours of Football website

 

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR CHELSEA
Goal-scorers
 Lamela  82m 59s  Werner  18m 18s
Cards 
Aurier (foul on Jorginho) 59
 Kovacic (foul on Lamela) 45+2
Tanganga (foul on Mount) 60
Jorginho (foul on Ndombele) 83
 
MATCH REPORT

Spurs came into this Fourth Round League Cup against Chelsea at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium battle-weary after losing two points in the last minute two days earlier to Newcastle, but showed admirable resolve to come from behind to take the tie to a penalty shoot-out, which they won !

Jose Mourinho made nine outfield changes from that side that played the previous game and it wasn’t noticeable that had taken too much out of those who didn’t start it, namely Dier and Ndombele.  As Chelsea had played the day before us, they had the fresher legs and bigger names, with Spurs having to bench some regular starters to give them a break from the Sunday-Tuesday-Thursday schedule.

For the first minutes, the teams were happy to pass the ball around and look at how the other was set up. Chelsea dominated possession, while Spurs got behind the ball and it was 15 minutes before the first shot on goal, when Mount fired an 18 yard shot some way wide. A minute later Hudson-Odoi got a better sight of goal, firing it into Lloris’ midriff when the ball skipped over Tanganga’s foot from a left wing cross. With the way Spurs were set up with Bergwijn and Lamela up front, it was proving difficult to hold the ball and to get the ball forward.

Reguilon lost the ball 35 yards out and then slid in on Azpilicueta, selling himself and allowing the ball to be pulled back to the 18 yard line to Werner in a central position. He took one touch and then drilled a shot through three Spurs defenders to Lloris’ left and just inside the post to give the visitors the lead.

In the 22nd minute, Gedson got onto a loose ball as Chelsea played around with it at the back. Mendy came out to block him and as the ball spun loose, Gedson tried to regain his feet and looked to nudge the ball into an empty goal, but Zouma got back to poke the ball away for a corner. In the play following the corner, Eric Dier went down holding his thigh and looked like he had to go off in
the 26th minute, as Davinson Sanchez got ready to replace him, but Dier carried on regardless.

Chelsea were putting in some physical challenges and not all within the laws. When Tottenham did find some space and work the ball to Aurier on the right, he slipped it inside the box to Erik Lamela, who turned away from two blue shirted defenders and struck a low left foot shot that Mendy had to keep out with his right foot.

Erik Lamela was working hard to get the ball back and ran to rob the ball five yards outside the Spurs box, but as he ran out with the ball, it was straight into Mount. When he looked to breakaway into injury time after Ndombele set him free, he didn’t get far as Kovacic cynically brought him down as Spurs out-numbered the visitors in their own half.

Spurs started the second half in a much more spritely manner. Bergwijn clashed a shot over the bar from the right channel and then  Aurier’s run up the right brought a pull-back the went right across the box for Reguilon. It was a side-footed effort with some power that Mendy did well to push over the bar. A long ball forward from Dier found Stevie B in behind, but his touch brought it back and a
square ball intended for Ndombele ran to Bergwijn, who was then tumbled over in the area, but fairly the referee said. The Dutchman then got free into the box and was denied a shot by Tomori.

Spurs were doing most of the pressing, with Mendy fluffing a corner, when he came for it, but dropped it behind him. Luckily only to a blue shirt. With Harry Kane replacing Tanganga, Chelsea responded by bringing on Kante to give their back four more protection. It didn’t work immediately as Aurier played a ball across the box that cut out the Chelsea defenders and Sergio came in and had to end up diving low to try and get the effort on goal, but it went wide.

Chelsea won a corner and when Spurs tried to play the ball out, it was turned over and Werner found space in the box, but his low  shot was well saved by Hugo as he dived to his right. Then Hudson-Odoi had a good chance inside the box, but fired it well over the  top after Dier had rushed off the pitch and down the tunnel, quickly followed by Mourinho !  Dier returned, so you imagine it was a much needed visit to the toilet, but carried on regardless.

With ten minutes left, Harry  got his first chance, with a ball played forward in the right hand channel, moving into the box and
turned inside Tomori before firing a left foot shot over the bar.  Sergio Reguilon got some space on the left after he turned Werner and his right-footed cross came in over Kane in the centre, but Lamela was at the far post, getting there before Emerson to turn it past Mendy from a few yards out. It looked like it might have been offside, but when the cross came in, he was well onside.

The rest of the game saw Spurs going forward until the last couple of minutes and added time, when Chelsea passed the ball around until the end of the match. So, it was down to a penalty shoot-out and we don’t often succeed in those.

This is how the penalties went …

Dier  Y (1-0) Abraham Y (1-1)
Lamela Y (2-1) Azpilicueta Y (2-2)
Hojbjerg Y (3-2) Jorginho Y (3-3)
Moura Y (4-3) Emerson Y (4-4)
Kane Y (5-4) Mount N (5-4)

The last penalty saw Lloris go the right way, but it went wide off the outside of the post and Spurs were through. It couldn’t have happened to a snidier player than Mount and his miss handed us a place in the quarter-finals, which don’t come up until December, so a break from the constant fixtures is broken for a while.

Erik Lamela put in a great deal of effort and had one of his better games, while Sergio Reguilon gaffed for the Chelsea goal, but settled and made a contribution with an assist to the equaliser.  His pace will be a real asset and his willingness to get forward into goal-scoring positions will help too.  Dier did well at the back, as did Toby and Japhet, who had a couple of moments, but came through them.

It was a “phenomenal” effort Jose said. He wasn’t far wrong and to win after the Blues dominated the first half showed good tactical nous by the manager.  All Spurs have to do now is to overcome Macabbi Haifa on Thursday to get through to the group stage of the Europa League !

Keith Cherwell

 

Match Notes

This match saw debuts for Sergio Reguilon, Edouard Mendy and Ben Chilwell.

 

Other Results
Everton 4 West Ham United London
1
Newport County 1 Newcastle United (won 5-4 on pens) 1
Brighton & Hove Albion 0 Manchester United 3
Burnley 0 Manchester City 3
Aston Villa Stoke City
Brentford Fulham
Liverpool Woolwich Wanderers