Plenty of reaction ...
Roy Keane continues to rant on Sky Sports, questioning Harry Kane’s body language, hunger and desire. But that will be all from me today. On a sad day for football – and particularly for two of Jimmy Greaves’s former clubs – the match eventually unfolded as most of us expected, with Chelsea simply having too much for Kane and Co.
I will leave you with Brian Glanville’s obituary of the late, great Jimmy Greaves:
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Here is Jacob Steinberg’s report from Stamford Bridge:
The Tottenham head coach Nuno speaks to Sky Sports: “Disappointed. The first half was very good, first half I think we were very good, very good. A game of two halves, clearly, clearly. First half I think we competed really well, we were the better team, we were pressing high, creating situations. For 50 minutes, we hold on, until the first goal. After that, the game changed and it became hard for the boys. Chelsea are a good team, good in possession, and they gave us many problems.
“I don’t know if we surprised them but clearly the idea was we needed to start the match really strong, and we did it ... really good pressing ... creating situations. The plan was to score – there were chances to do it – we didn’t do it – but like I said to you, the first half, fantastic.
“The set-piece, the goal, was disappointing ... after that we struggled to recover the control of the game. Chelsea is a mature team, they are organised, they have experience, it became very hard for us.
“Of course we should have done better on the set-piece [the first goal]. Even when we did good results and performances ... we are aware that we have a lot to improve. The belief is here, and the boys are working well, and we’re going to push it.
“The game at Crystal Palace is totally out of our memories ... the first 45 minutes was huge for us ... now we have to get the platform to keep on going, and to sustain these levels of performance for all the game.”
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Chelsea captain Azpilicueta has a chat: “Everybody gets credit ... I think if there is a characteristic of this team, it’s that we play as a team altogether. Today two defenders scored, Tony and Thiago, and we kept a clean sheet against a strong team. We worked really hard, especially in the second half, I think the first half was not our ‘level’. We improved in the second half ... in the end we could have scored more goals ... the second half, we dominated.
“At half-time, he [Tuchel] was not happy ... we were sometimes too open, too wide, they played around ... it was something we needed to address ... the reaction was good, everybody is humble enough to accept it and to go again, and to do a strong second half as we did.
“Everybody saw today how strong Thiago is ... all around it’s fantastic to have Thiago with us.”
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Apparently Rüdiger had an issue with accessing the stadium today due to an issue with his Covid-19 passport: “I didn’t know where he was ... I was not concerned ... it’s a bit strange, he said he had some problems with his [Covid] passport to come in,” says Tuchel.
“We are competitive ... we want to be competitive,” Tuchel adds. “It’s not an excuse to say: ‘We are not ready yet.’ ... we want to win, we are competitive on this level to win, but we still have things to improve ... it’s good to have these hard situations now ... we are able to produce wins, and deserved wins. It does not count what’s in three months – it’s now, it’s tomorrow.”
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Tuchel speaks! “Me personally, I was absolutely not happy with the first 45 minutes. There were individual performances that were already great, like from Kepa, Thiago was already very, very good in first half ... but in general we lacked energy, we lacked to be more relentless in duels, to decide 50-50 balls for us. I had the feeling that we wanted to impress by pure skills, but a game like this, in Premier League, in a derby at Tottenham it is not only about skilful play, it’s also about aggression and about winning duels ... it’s about performing better as a team ... we lacked energy, simply, and we spoke clearly about it at half-time. Second-half was a very good performance and a well deserved win in the second half.
“It was a very good reaction and I’m absolutely happy with that performance in the second half.”
“It was a hard decision for Mason, it seemed to be a bit more defensive from Mason to N’Golo ... but I wanted to give the sign from the talk I wasn’t happy with the energy. I was not ready to talk about the spaces here and the spaces there ... it was about ball wins, second balls, about duels and about sending signals ... letting the confidence grow by energy, by ball wins, by higher work rate, and by closing players down and not being too reactive.”
“Thiago Silva was outstanding ... he almost scored twice, he’s so strong, the deliveries were so good ... we were happy he was able to score and open the game for us today. But his performance even in the first half was outstanding, well deserved, he was outstanding today.”
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I’m guessing there will be interviews with Tuchel and Nuno coming up. Nothing yet, though.
Tuchel will have enjoyed the second goal: It was, after all, a recovery in the final third. But it was incredibly poor play by Lo Celso of Spurs to surrender possession so easily in that area of the field. Souness is now also pointing out that Højbjerg failed to close Kanté down and allowed him to shoot. And that was game over, really.
“The thing that worries me about Spurs now is that no one pointed the finger,” Souness says of that incident. “That’s a reason to fall out with someone.”
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Self-confessed Tottenham fan Roy Keane: “It was men v boys. I couldn’t believe how bad Spurs were ... Kane’s body language today ... the difference in terms of desire, and wanting to win a game of football ... the basics come from within. Get to the ball, stop the shot, put your body on the line.”
He’s warming up now. He’s livid!
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Stat. It’s those wing backs bombing on.
Marcos Alonso with more touches in the opposition penalty area than Harry Kane this season
— Duncan Alexander (@oilysailor) September 19, 2021
Chelsea go top of the Premier League, with an identical record to Liverpool: Played five, won four, drawn one, 12 goals scored, one conceded.
Top of the league? 😎 pic.twitter.com/olwOPqzD9h
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 19, 2021
Sky Sports will have some post-match reaction coming up shortly, no doubt, and I’ll bring that to you ASAP.
Full-time! Tottenham 0-3 Chelsea
Jimmy Greaves started his playing career at Chelsea before spending many years at Tottenham, so you could say a win for either side is a win for him. But that was a sobering afternoon for Tottenham. They gave it everything in the first half, but Chelsea batted off their best attacking efforts, and tore them to shreds after the break.
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90 min + 3: Lukaku, who has also performed at a very high level, wants a goal and hits a shot from an angle which is blocked.
Goal! 90 +1 min: Tottenham 0-3 Chelsea (Rüdiger)
After being fed by Azpilicueta, Werner cuts the ball back from the right and Rüdiger, doing his best centre-forward impression, swivels to send a powerful first-time shot into the far bottom corner. Chelsea have simply been too good. Kane has hardly had a kick in the second half.
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90 min: We will have a minimum of four added minutes. Some excellent hold-up play by Lukaku allows him to release Kovacic. The Croatian seems to have an obvious opportunity to belt a finish towards the far corner but instead holds on to it, and then hits a shot from a tight angle which Lloris saves.
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87 min: Alonso, who has been exceptional today, lopes into space down the Chelsea left and bends a dangerous ball into the penalty area. Tottenham succeed in clearing it. Thiago Silva is named man of the match by Gary Neville. Neville also gives special mention to Alonso’s performance.
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85 min: Chelsea are in total, total control. They stroke a few passes around. Rüdiger curls in an excellent cross, which is met by an excellent downwards header by Lukuku - although it’s straight at Lloris.
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84 min: Werner tries to control a high-bouncing ball in midfield, but he butchers his first touch and it turns into a 50-50 challenge instead. Another fine mess.
82 min: “Hi Luke, by bringing on Werner, does Tuchel think two goals are enough for today?” emails Christoph.
That’s unkind. But I know what you mean. He gets so much stick, poor Timo, and his cameo here hasn’t been the most impressive. He does keep trying though doesn’t he? That’s something.
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79 min: Werner is now booked for a needless lunge on Gil. Seconds later, Werner is in, one-on-one with Lloris after being played in by Kanté, and should probably score – but Lloris saves with his feet. The ball isn’t cleared, and Azpilicueta then heads across goal, where Werner is lurking and hoping for a tap-in. But Lloris again manages to avert the danger and palms the ball away. It falls to Alonso, who cracks a half-volley which is inadvertantly blocked by Lukaku.
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77 min: Lukaku runs purposefully at a ragged Spurs back line. He lays off a pacy pass to Werner, whose first touch is lacking, and the chance is gone.
74 min: Thiago Silva is inches away from scoring with another header from a corner. This one is from the opposite side to his earlier effort – Alonso whips in the set-piece brilliantly, and Thiago again easily out-jumps the Spurs defence and glances a header towards goal, which is beaten out by Lloris. A very good header, but it was really all about the quality of the delivery by Alonso.
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71 min: Royal of Spurs goes down under a challenge by Kovacic. Rüdiger pettily kicks the ball at him while he’s on the floor and then ends up standing over him due to his momentum. Dier is one of the Spurs players who makes his feelings known to the referee. A few words are exchanged but it all calms down. Sky Sports replay the two goals, that came soon after half-time, and there’s a distinct feeling that this match is done and we’re just counting down the remaining time. Can Tottenham break through and give us a tense finish? Another Chelsea goal looks more likely.
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69 min: Werner on, Havertz off for Chelsea.
65 min: Bryan Gil, who has just joined the fray, makes a strong run into space veering to the right and lays the ball off to Kane. Kane runs infield and then slides a ball in behind Chelsea’s defence, which brings a corner. The crowd roars again but Chelsea don’t look overly troubled by anything Tottenham are doing, in truth.
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63 min: Kane and Son play a neat one-two which creates the space for Kane to hit a low shot from the edge of the area. Kepa gets down and gathers it cleanly. The Tottenham fans still believe and they applaud loudly. It looks like Timo Werner is coming on for Chelsea.
61 min: Bryan Gil and Oliver Skipp are coming on for Tottenham. Ndombele and Lo Celso come off.
Goal! 57 min: Tottenham 0-2 Chelsea (Kanté)
The substitute Kanté finds himself in tonnes of space close to the Spurs box after Chelsea’s pressing wins the ball back, Lo Celso coughing up possession all too easily. Kanté hits a low shot from a central position which takes a big deflection off Dier and slips into the goal via a post. Lloris was given no chance by the deflection. Tottenham are indeed being punished for their failure to take chances in the first half. Nuno, arms folded, looks to be planning some imminent changes.
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55 min: The home crowd respond, having seen their side fall behind, urging them on to replicate their efforts of the first half when they had Chelsea under pressure.
"It's a brilliant header!" 💥
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) September 19, 2021
Thiago Silva gives #CFC the lead with a thumping effort from a corner!#GameZero pic.twitter.com/wqOCoU1AkF
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53 min: Chelsea have moved up a gear. A sweeping move, with Havertz storming down the left, ends with an Alonso effort from close range being cleared off the line. Tottenham are now the team that are being pushed back.
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Goal! 49 min: Tottenham 0-1 Chelsea (Thiago Silva)
Chelsea have a corner. Alonso bends it into the danger zone. Arriving late from outside the penalty area, Thiago Silva seems to be unmarked, but at the last minute Dele Alli looks to be the man trying to pick him up. It makes no difference – Thiago gets the jump on Alli, and directs a fine header into the far corner. Alli looks around at his teammates, slightly nonplussed, as the Chelsea players celebrate wildly. That was not ideal defending to say the least.
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47 min: Thiago Silva clips a cultured ball over the head of Emerson Royal, the Spurs right-back. Alonso sprints and stretches to meet it, and volleys it goalwards with huge power and no little accuracy. Lloris is on hand to save the goal-bound effort.
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Second-half kick-off!
Mason Mount has gone off and N’Golo Kanté, back fit after an ankle injury, has come on.
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With all the pre-match tributes to Jimmy Greaves, I didn’t have to a chance to mention the fact that this is being billed as the first ‘net zero carbon’ football match:
“The 19 September fixture against Chelsea at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is supported by COP26 and the Premier League, and will be branded #GameZero, with the ambition of being net zero carbon,” explains a story on the Tottenham website. “This is achieved when all direct emissions are reduced as much as possible, with the remainder offset through natural projects that remove emissions from the atmosphere.”
Earlier on, Sky Sports even had a reporter eating fried tofu on camera.
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Half-time! Tottenham 0-0 Chelsea
That was an excellent half of football, in which a high-tempo Tottenham threw everything at Chelsea. Son was at the heart of all their best work, and with Kane, Lo Celso and Ndombele linking up well together, many lesser teams would have crumbled. But Chelsea held firm and began to pose a threat of their own as the half went on. More of the same from Nuno’s men in the second half? We will find out in a few minutes.
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45 min: There’s been a break in the action after Ndombele went down injured. Two minutes of added time to play.
“Further to Michael Lewis (no relation),” emails Robert Lewis. “I feared and respected Greavesie. Having supported West Ham since 1962, I had brothers who supported Chelsea and Tottenham. We were all at the 1967 Cup final at which Greaves played, but didn’t score. His double act with Gilzean was one of the greatest ever seen ... RIP Legend.”
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“What is there to say. JG was footballers’ man,” emails Robin Chambers. “He was a supporters’ man. And he was a gentleman. We will never see his like again and beating his records just won’t happen. God bless you Jimmy RIP. The Chambers clan.”
39 min: Mount is released down Chelsea’s right. He runs on to the ball and tries to cross but Dele Alli is on hand to divert the ball out for a corner. Alonso hits the corner for Chelsea to the near post but it’s a poor one and Tottenham can breath again ...
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37 min: The atmosphere, as one would expect, is crackling in the stadium. This would be a huge win for Tottenham if they can pull it off. But there is a constant concern about being sucker-punched by this very accomplished Chelsea team. It it was a boxing match Tottenham would be winning on points, quite comfortably, but it remains all square.
32 min: Ndombele feeds Lo Celso, who angles a good through-ball to Son, who finds himself one-on-one with Kepa. However, Alonso tries to intervene from behind, subtly trying to hold Son back, while the ball squirts away from the forward a little as Kepa comes out to smother. The goalie does well, and is clattered by Son for his troubles. There’s a brief break while the physio checks on Kepa. It was perhaps a slightly heavy touch by Son which allowed the keeper to make the block. Azpilicueta, on the touchline, is locked in talks with Tuchel about how Tottenham are attacking Chelsea, and what can be done about it.
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30 min: Ndombele wants a foul, on the Spurs right, but doesn’t get it. Alonso immediately breaks away to the byline and floats a cross to Havertz, who is crowded out as he tries to head it goalwards. Chelsea are on the front foot a little more now. Another cross comes over, from the opposite side of the penalty area, but Tottenham manage to deal with it.
28 min: Inevitably, Tottenham’s all-action opening has dropped off a little. But they are still passing it positively and looking for an opening. Chelsea look more comfortable and settled in defence now and the game is less stretched as we approach the half-hour mark.
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“Spurs have Chelsea on their heels but there is only one problem. When you have the advantage you have to score,” emails Mary Waltz. “Fall behind to Chelsea and they will strangle you out the rest of the way.”
25 min: Chelsea’s Christensen makes a good forward run, exchanges passes with Lukaku, and buys the space for a shot from the edge of the area. He bends it, powerfully, but just high and wide.
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“Hi Luke, I picked the Spurs as my team in 1964, and have supported them ever since,” emails Michael Lewis. “My choice was probably all due to Jimmy Greaves, I’ve been wondering today how many others are Spurs fans as a direct result of JG signing for the club? COYS, Mike.”
19 min: Kane is hassled by Jorginho and retreats into his own half, in a flashback to the Euro 2020 final. Suddenly space opens up on the Chelsea right after a clever lay-off by Son. Regúilon storms into that space and tries to square the ball for Lo Celso who is making a run in a central area. But the pass isn’t great, it’s underhit, and it’s cut out by Chelsea’s back-pedalling defenders. Kane then bends an effort from distance which Kepa fumbles momentarily. Another chance missed for Tottenham and you start to wonder if they are going to pay for failing to capitalise on all this possession.
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18 min: Another corner for Tottenham. Lo Celso hits a left-footed shot from outside the area, which rather embarrassingly goes out for a throw-in on the opposite side of the field.
16 min: Tottenham, undeterred, attack on the right through Son. He crosses, looking for Kane at the near post, but Chelsea clear for a corner. This is all good stuff from Spurs but they need an end product after all this hard running and positive play.
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13 min: Tottenham stream forward again. They are playing an exceptionally high tempo and are pushing Chelsea back. Kane drops deep and Lo Celso bombs on beyond him. The move breaks down, and with Tottenham having pushed forward, Chelsea break at high pace through Mason Mount. There is plenty of space to attack. Mount lays it off to Lukaku, who tries to play a one-two, but Mount is crowded out as he tries to bear down on goal. A warning for Tottenham.
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10 min: For the first time in the match, Chelsea thread together a sustained spell of possession and passing. Rüdiger floats an angled ball to Azpilicueta, who meets it with a header across goal from the corner of the penalty area. Havertz tries to volley it, left-footed, but it skews off the side of his boot and the Tottenham fans roar their approval of the wasted chance.
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8 min: Son yet again makes inroads, this time on the right, but overruns the ball and it goes out for a goal kick. Without wishing to labour the point, Tottenham look a completely different side when he is playing. Gary Neville thinks Son is targeting Thiago Silva and trying to expose his (relative) lack of pace.
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6 min: Son is full of running for Tottenham and he pressures Kepa into a hasty clearance. Chelsea break quickly, Dier falls over, and Havertz cracks a low shot from 25 yards which is blocked by a Spurs body.
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4 min: Spurs win a free-kick right on the edge of the box. Nervous moments for Chelsea. Kane and Lo Celso stand over it ... Kane hits it right-footed, but straight at the wall, where it cannons off Kovacic and out for a corner for the hosts.
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2 min: Son finds space for a shot on the edge of the penalty area. He bends an effort goalwards but it hits Harry Kane and bounces back out. Son gets the ball back and breaks to the byline on the left and cuts back a dangerous low ball across the six-yard box. No one can get on the end of it, but the ball is delivered yet again from the far side, and a diving clearance by Christensen snuffs out the danger. A bright start by Spurs and immediate evidence of Son’s importance.
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First half kick-off!
The players take the knee, and we are under way. Chelsea immediately attack when Rüdiger pumps a ball forwards from defence. Lukaku is caught offside as he attempts to link with Havertz.
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Players from both sides line up on either side of the centre circle. An image of a smiling Jimmy Greaves - 1940-2021 - is displayed on the big screen in the stadium. Instead of silence, there is applause to remember him and to mark his passing. And now we are ready for kick-off.
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“He has to be the greatest striker this country has ever seen,” says Graeme Souness on Sky.
The Chelsea players came out first, now here come Tottenham.
Glenn Hoddle and Ossie Ardiles are among a host of Tottenham greats who are lined up by the side of the pitch, ready to pay tribute to the late Jimmy Greaves. Ledley King and Gary Mabbutt, too. The players are heading out on to the pitch now. Five minutes until kick-off.
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Romelu Lukaku and Thiago Silva are ready.
Let’s go! ✊#TOTCHE pic.twitter.com/tvzwvxZkrk
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 19, 2021
And so is the fit-again Son Heung-min, who returns to the side:
𝗛𝗘'𝗦 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞. 😍
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 19, 2021
🛵 @getir_UK pic.twitter.com/OXv7GnYEPR
The Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel talks to Sky: “It’s about keeping momentum ... you earn it, you create it ... there’s hard work behind it and you want to keep going ... we are highly motivated in this stadium and in the London derby ... we hope to have a good performance.”
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“There are some heroes you illogically hope will never die, certainly in the imagination. Muhammad Ali was one, George Best another (despite his best efforts) and Jimmy Greaves, too. Even Tottenham fans who never saw him play in the flesh so treasured his deeds it seemed he belonged solely to them.”
Kevin Mitchell on Jimmy Greaves:
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“The team are working to be compact, to defend well and, after that, transition as quickly as possible,” Sergio Reguilón says. “We are working but it’s not one day, one week, one month. We have to build something … something big.”
Some pre-match reading here from David Hytner:
Tottenham’s Harry Kane has been speaking to Sky Sports about Jimmy Greaves: “Jimmy was an incredible player, incredible goalscorer, a legend for club and country. A sad day, but hopefully we can put on a great performance for him.”
Reflecting on Greaves’ career stats, the England captain said: “Frightening, really, how good a player he was, the goal ratios that he returned, the goals he scored year in, year out. For someone like me to look at those numbers and try to achieve those numbers and hopefully one day go on to break those numbers would be incredible.” (PA)
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High drama at West Ham. Manchester United have just won 2-1 thanks to a last-gasp penalty save by David de Gea from Mark Noble. Rob Smyth has the story:
The teams
Tottenham: Lloris, Emerson, Romero, Dier, Reguilón, Ndombele, Højbjerg, Alli, Lo Celso, Kane, Son. Subs: Doherty, Sanchez, Winks, Gil, Rodon, Gollini, Skipp, Davies, Scarlett.
Chelsea: Arrizabalaga, Christensen, Thiago Silva, Rüdiger, Azpilicueta, Jorginho, Kovacic, Alonso, Mount, Havertz, Lukaku. Subs: Kanté, Werner, Bettinelli, Chalobah, Saul, Hudson-Odoi, Chilwell, Ziyech, James.
Referee: Paul Tierney
Son Heung-min starts and so does Eric Dier. Romero and Lo Celso were among the players who spent several days in Croatia after returning from international duty, due to Covid-19 regulations. Nuno said on Friday that he was satisfied they had been doing plenty of work to keep in shape there. Ndombele was involved for the first time against Rennes in midweek and starts today.
There are three changes for Chelsea: Kepa starts in goal, after Édouard Mendy took a knock against Zenit in midweek. Thiago Silva and Kai Havertz come in with Reece James and Hakim Ziyech on the bench.
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Louise Taylor’s story on the passing of Jimmy Greaves:
Richard Williams remembers Jimmy Greaves.
“Greaves started out as a teenager with Chelsea in an era when players in the old First Division still took public transport to the ground and, in his case, stopped off for a lunch of pie, eels and mash with his teammate Peter Brabrook.”
Some wonderful images of Jimmy Greaves’s life:
Preamble
Meetings between Tottenham and Chelsea are always emotional, but following the death of a legend, this promises to be a uniquely charged occasion. It’s a chance for fans of both clubs – not to mention the wider world of football – to mourn Jimmy Greaves and to celebrate the life and career of one of the greatest goal scorers. Greaves, who passed away in the early hours this morning, began his playing career at Chelsea, scoring 132 goals at Stamford Bridge between 1957 and 1961. After a short spell in Italy he signed for Tottenham and would go on to score 266 goals in 379 appearances at White Hart Lane between 1961 and 1970. Today’s tributes, quite rightly, can be expected to go far beyond the black armbands worn by the players.
Before today’s sad news this was being billed as a battle between two modern-day goal scorers, Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku. The meeting of the managers is just as intriguing, though, with Nuno Espírito Santo and Thomas Tuchel at such different stages of their respective projects. It has taken Tuchel less than nine months to transform Chelsea into a well-drilled machine and add a Champions League to the trophy cabinet. Nuno’s time at Tottenham began much like Tuchel’s at Chelsea, a flurry of victories and strong performances bringing a manager of the month award. But a bump in the road arrived at Crystal Palace last weekend.
Tottenham mustered a 2-2 draw against Rennes in midweek but are hampered by injuries and recent quarantine-related disruption. Chelsea arrive unbeaten and will expect to win. A positive result today, on such a significant occasion, would do much to endear Nuno to Tottenham’s fans. But regardless of result, an on-pitch display of commitment, skill and passion by the players will be an appropriate tribute to Jimmy Greaves.
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