Tottenham brushed off the absence of Harry Kane to banish painful past memories of Stamford Bridge and earn a come from behind 3-1 win at Chelsea – a maiden victory in west London in nearly three decades and a significant victory in the race for Champions League football.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side cemented their grip on fourth place and opened up an eight-point gap to the Blues in fifth – taking a major step towards qualifying for the Champions League next season while at the same time effectively ending Chelsea’s chances of playing among Europe’s elite.
CHELSEA’S SEASON AND CONTE’S FUTURE ON LIFE SUPPORT
Antonio Conte refused to be drawn post-match on whether he’d be in charge at Stamford Bridge next season. But it’s abundantly clear to all that he won’t be.
He was hailed a king when turning around the debacle of the disastrous 10th-place finish in 2015/16 with a Premier League win the following year – the Blues fifth title and second highest points tally (93) in league history.
To then follow that with failure to finish inside the top four is unforgiveable. With seven games to go, Chelsea are six points better off than the paltry 50 they managed overall in Jose Mourinho’s final season, but 47 shy of last season’s title-winning total.
Having attained messiah status in his debut campaign, Conte has overseen a mess this term, with his side’s drop in form setting off alarm bells in west London.
It is Tottenham that have form for crumbling in the big games but they stood tall here and were particularly impressive, especially when faced with such a blistering start from the home side.
Chelsea dominated the first half and seized the initiative through Alvaro Morata’s opening goal. But they then surrendered the initiative and had little answer as Spurs surged through the gears in the second half.
King Conte’s rapid coronation will be followed just as quickly by his dethroning.
Antonio Conte is unlikely to be in charge of Chelsea next season.
WILL EARNING CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FOOTBALL MEAN A SUCCESSFUL SEASON FOR SPURS?
After Manchester City, Tottenham play the best brand of attacking football in England, perhaps one of most attractive in Europe. But it’s getting to the stage now where that has to translate into results and, more importantly, trophies.
For all their fans’ berating of north London rivals Arsenal’s recent travails, the much-maligned Arsene Wenger has still fired the Gunners to three FA Cup triumphs in four years.
Pochettino has been in situ at White Hart Lane for the same amount of time and, in terms of silverware, has nothing to show for it.
Spurs are undoubtedly moving forward under his guidance and while the relative inactivity in the transfer window garnered attention last summer, Pochettino instead chose to focus on developing what he had.
Retaining the crux of a very talented squad, and improving from within, cannot be overlooked.
But they must now take the next step. They challenged for the title in 2015/16 but fell away alarmingly and somehow finished third in a two-horse race.
They’ve also failed to turn their panache into progress on the continent – something they will likely get to rectify next season with the Stamford Bridge win seeing them take a huge step towards qualifying for next year’s Champions League.
Finishing in the top four, ahead of Chelsea and Arsenal, would be a feat. But silverware of some sort must follow next season.
He may be magic, but Mauricio Pochettino is missing a trick with failure to win silverware at Spurs.
ERIKSEN IS EVER-RELIABLE
Once asked to name his best Manchester United XI, Sir Alex Ferguson famously said of left-back Denis Irwin: “I called him an eight out of 10. I would say Denis Irwin would be the one certainty to get in the team.”
The affable Irishman was Mr Reliable, the perennial 8/10 player, a man who never let anyone down.
Add in a tad more style, substance, goalscoring prowess and playmaking ability, and you could say the same of Christian Eriksen.
Tottenham have the best striker in England in Harry Kane and an embarrassment of attacking riches in Dele Alli, Son Heung-min and Erik Lamela.
But Eriksen is the metronome that makes them tick and is arguably the team’s best and most vital player.
Even when it appears he’s having a quiet game, he can still affect proceedings, with either a special strike, mesmerising piece of skill or sublime pass to unlock a defence.
Two of these bookmarked his 90 minutes, his venomous equaliser was the turning point for Tottenham and he played a killer ball through to Son which in turn led to the game-clinching third goal for Alli.
Like Irwin, the dynamic Dane is Tottenham’s Mr Reliable, the perennial 8/10 player, a man who never lets anyone down. The only difference is he’s absolutely world class.
Christian Eriksen was the mastermind behind Spurs’ triumph.
