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Tottenham Hotspur emerged victorious against Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday in the Premier League to put an end to the visitors' unbeaten start to the season under Maurizio Sarri. The Blues suffered a setback as early as the eighth minute when Dele Alli flicked a header beyond the reach of Kepa Arrizabalaga to open the scoring and register his sixth goal in five games against Chelsea.
Juan Foyth might consider himself lucky to have gotten away with a challenge on Eden Hazard that looked like a clear penalty in the 14th minute, but Martin Atkinson failed to spot it clearly enough to give Chelsea a lifeline. Furthermore, the visitors' sluggish start was punished shortly thereafter when Harry Kane doubled the lead, after David Luiz backed off from blocking the effort, as Kepa stood rooted to his position and watched the ball creep into the back of the net.
Chelsea never looked like recovering from their error-strewn start as the hosts made use of it by illuminating the proceedings with their sublime attacking display. If there was ever any doubt with respect to Chelsea making a comeback in the second half, Son Heung-min put it to rest when he outpaced Jorginho and made a mockery of the onrushing Luiz to finish at the near post to get the goal he richly deserved on the night.
In all honesty, it could have been more for Tottenham had they been more clinical infront of goal. Not that it mattered, but Olivier Giroud pulled one back for the visitors after coming off the bench in the second half to bag his first league goal of the season.
The result meant that Tottenham have now leapfrogged Chelsea into third in the league table while also entering a run of crucial games that include a potential do-or-die clash against Inter Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday ahead of their north London derby meeting with Arsenal at the Emirates next Saturday on the best possible note.
Without further delay, let's take a closer look at the best and worst performers from a largely one-sided London derby under the lights at Wembley on Saturday in the Premier League:
#5 Hit: Son Heung-min
It is a tough ask to pick out the best performers from what was a scintillating attacking display from Tottenham over Chelsea with all of Son Heung-min, Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli functioning at their destructive best. Honestly, anyone from the aforementioned trio could have made the list and that might still not be enough to warrant them with the amount of credit they deserve for the performance.
We have picked Son as the standout player since he has been in and out of the team for a while and perhaps needed a performance like the one against Chelsea to silence his doubters.
Mauricio Pochettino made a brave decision by opting to involve Son ahead of Erik Lamela, especially considering the fact that the South Korean had not opened his account for goals in the league prior to the game against Chelsea after being restricted to just 328 minutes of playing time in the Premier League.
However, Son answered the call in sublime fashion as he worked tirelessly to press high up the pitch and make space for his teammates to function cohesively as a collective unit. Despite spurning a few chances in the first half, the winger netted his first league goal of the campaign when he whizzed past Jorginho and a shambolic David Luiz to produce a calm finish that reaffirmed Tottenham's grip on the game.
#4 Flop: Jorginho
Jorginho has established himself as an integral member at Chelsea since following Maurizio Sarri from Naples to west London in the summer. It is as clear as daylight that the midfielder is instrumental to the way in which the Blues function and by now it has been identified that if you stop Jorginho, Chelsea stop ticking.
The Brazilian-born Italy international was exposed during Chelsea's only other defeat under Sarri during the Community Shield meeting with Manchester City in August and Tottenham deployed a similar tactic to outwit the visitors on Saturday.
Jorginho was afforded no time at all to dictate terms for Chelsea on the night and was constantly under pressure from Dele Alli, who managed to run rings around him.
Furthermore, Jorginho was uncharacteristically poor with his passing in the first half and struggled to recapture his mojo as the game went on.
The 26-year-old's frustration was evident when he picked up a booking for a bad challenge on Alli and was made to look like a passenger during Son Heung-min's burst of pace in the build-up to the third goal in the second half.
#3 Hit: Moussa Sissoko
Moussa Sissoko has received a lot of flak throughout his tenure with Tottenham Hotspur and has largely gone under the radar due to his inconsistency. The hefty-price tag with which he arrived in north London did not help him either with many people suggesting that Newcastle committed daylight robbery on Daniel Levy.
However, the Frenchman was preferred to Harry Winks in midfield against Chelsea and he conjured probably his best ever performance for Tottenham in recent memory. Sissoko was instrumental in the middle of the park and might have even covered every single blade of grass for the hosts as he did the dirty work of chasing down and winning back possession for the creative players to thrive on the ball.
The midfielder recycled possession effectively and continuously put Chelsea on the back foot while also putting the ball on a plate for Harry Kane to register Tottenham's fourth goal, but the striker scooped his shot over the bar.
Sissoko has been in fine form lately, but most of his hard work goes unnoticed and his stock has subsequently suffered as a result although that was not the case against Chelsea.
#2 Flop: David Luiz
David Luiz was the chief culprit as the Chelsea defence wilted under the pressure from Tottenham Hotspur early on in the game. The only consistent thing about the visitors at Wembley was their sluggishness and lackadaisical approach at the back that was punished time and again by an effervescent attacking display from Spurs.
The Brazilian had nothing going his favour during the game, which turned out to be his worst performance so far this season.
Luiz gave away the cheap foul that led to the free-kick which resulted in Dele Alli's opening goal in the eighth minute while he backed off and allowed Harry Kane to take aim and find the back of the net when the hosts extended their lead.
However, the defender's most embarrassing moment came during the build-up to Son Heung-min's fantastic solo effort in the second half when he got nowhere near the ball as he hared into a challenge to try and dispossess the winger. That moment summed up his performance on a disastrous night, where he was at fault during all three goals conceded by Chelsea.
#1 Hit: Mauricio Pochettino
Let's face it, Mauricio Pochettino has not had an entirely delightful start to the season despite Tottenham Hotspur's lofty position in the league table at this point in time. The north Londoners have not moved into their new stadium, and will not do so at least until February, after what has been a financially draining summer that resulted in zero investment in the squad over the summer.
Tottenham's disastrous start in the Champions League coupled with their unfortunate luck with injuries have undoubtedly piled the pressure on Pochettino, but he has somehow managed to smile his way through it and now sit third in the league table courtesy of a well-mastered win over rivals Chelsea.
The Argentinean deserves all the credit for his team's performance starting with the tweak in formation. Spurs lined up in a 4-3-1-2 shape with Dele Alli operating just behind Harry Kane and Son Heung-min at the top. The idea behind it was obviously to nullify Jorginho and it worked fantastically as the hosts gained the upper hand.
Pochettino's decision to involve Son and Moussa Sissoko also paid off handsomely as both players repaid the faith shown by their manager with stellar performances. Maurizio Sarri was quick to admit that he was caught surprised by Spurs' approach and it was all down to one man and his tactical brilliance that scripted a memorable win for his team.
