Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Chelsea - 5 Talking Points

Tottenham and Chelsea played out a boring goalless drawChelsea eked out a point at White Hart Lane against an in-form Tottenham Hotspur side by playing a 0-0 draw. The match lacked attacking flair and intensity which has been hallmark of Spurs this season while Chelsea looked a bit more organised and solid overall by tweaking their tactical set-up.It was a game which promised a lot but delivered nothing. Here are the five talking points from this lackadaisical encounter.

#1 Spurs win midfield war but lose the battle

Spurs’ midfield lacked a dominating presence in the form of Dele Alli, who was suspended

Spurs’ midfield has been their major strengths this season. The Eric Dier-led midfield has been almost unplayable on most of the occasions, especially with teenage prodigy Dele Alli in tandem.

Today, Alli missed the tie due to suspension but the Spurs midfield looked competent enough in his absence. After a promising first half, Pochettino’s midfield engine was out of steam when the game approached hour mark.

The hosts dominated the midfield and also had a lot of the possession but they lacked that cutting edge which has been synonymous of them this season. The toothless bite didn’t hurt a morally sapped Chelsea defense.

And this almost came back to haunt them back in the latter stages of the game, when Nemanja Matic and Co. started to stamp their authority in the midfield with enough to unnerve Spurs in the closing stages of the game.

When the match began, it looked like Spurs would be the first team to get a breakthrough albeit at the fulltime it was a completely different story on the cards. Spurs may’ve dominated the tie but Chelsea looked more likely to knick away a win when the clock struck 90 minutes.

#2 Is Hazard as a False 9 Chelsea\'s last gasp attempt to salvation?

Hazard as a false 9 might be the way forward for Chelsea

Chelsea have been shambles in defense and pedestrian in attack this season. Diego Costa and Eden Hazard, this season have been pale shadows of their former selves. Also the failure of Cesc Fabregas to provide the creative spark in the midfield hasn’t helped them either.

Today by playing with a packed midfield with Eden Hazard as the lone man upfront in the false 9 role somehow clicked two of three boxes which have been missing this season. The defense had enough shielding from its midfield and the forwards looked somewhat organised if not flamboyant in comparison to last season.

Hazard, who was adjudged Man of the Match along with Jan Vertonghen, looked lively especially in the second half as he hassled Toby Alderweireld. He also forced a stunning save from Hugo Lloris in around the 68th minute. And moreover, with Hazard’s work-rate Chelsea always have that one extra man defending whilst not in possession.

With Hazard at the top, Chelsea although unconvincing but seem quite compact and hard to breakdown. And this might as well salvage the disastrous season for Mourinho and Chelsea.

#3 Chelsea show glimpses of their famed defensive organization.

Matic (R) showed glimpses of his form last season

Chelsea have been staring down the barrel this season and now it seems the task is cutout for Jose Mourinho and his boys. Today it seems the master tactician went for the safety first approach for the Blues as they faced an in-form Spurs side.

Mourinho chose to pack the midfield by playing a false 9 in Eden Hazard to combat Spurs’ intensity and zest down the middle of the park. And the move somehow paid off as the visitors outnumbered the hosts in the middle of the park. Spurs too lacked their usual industry in the middle due to the absence of suspended Dele Ali.

Nemanja Matic looked somewhat like his familiar self this season and so did Chelsea’s rearguard especially Branislav Ivanovic. The signs are looking positive for the west Londoners as far as defensive side of the game is concerned. The way they set themselves up for the counterattacks today was absolutely quintessential Chelsea of Jose Mourinho, especially in the latter half of the game.

It seems slowly and steadily Chelsea are finding their groove and it wont be shocking if they start making their move in December.

#4 Europa taking its toll on Spurs

The hectic Europa league schedule seems to be taking a toll on the Tottenham players

Mauricio Pochettino’s teams are known for their intensity and more importantly for their fitness. This Spurs team is one of the fittest teams in the league without any shadow of doubt. Despite this, today the Lilywhites somehow ran out of gas as the game wore on.

There has been a lot of buzz in the media regarding Spurs’ meteoric transformation this season under the Argentine manager. Their pressing and the sharpness in matches has given them lot of plaudits both on and off the pitch.

It seems the young turks of White Hart Lane are slowly facing the heat as the season enters into the busy festive season. Spurs played an enduring Europa league tie in Azerbaijan against Qarabag FK on Thursday. The long trip to the former Soviet state evidently took its toll on them as they not only fizzled out of the game in second half but also conceded ground to an uninspiring Chelsea side.

#5 Mourinho snubs Costa

More issues seem to be cropping up between Mourinho (L) and Costa (R)

The cold war between Jose Mourinho and his erstwhile talisman Diego Costa is heating up with the festive season right around the corner. When an immovable object collides with an unstoppable force we all know what happens.

This is not the first time Mourinho has been at loggerheads with one of his key players. And today he made a statement of intent by snubbing one of his potent attackers in Costa. The Spaniard was overlooked in favour of teenage prodigies like Kennedy and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

This visibly irked the Spaniard who was warming up along the touchlines for better part of the second half to catch his manager’s eye. And finally the mercurial striker lost his cool as he threw away his bib in disgust and contempt in the direction of his manager.

Mourinho isn’t amongst the ones who flinch away in such situations and neither is Costa. It will be interesting to witness this frosty war between two headstrong characters over the cold month of December.