Sports
Brilliant Chelsea Shatter Tottenham’s Top-Four Hopes
Chelsea delivered a hammer blow to Tottenham’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League with a 2-0 win against their spluttering London rivals on Thursday.
Trevoh Chalobah’s first goal since March 2022 put Chelsea ahead in the first half at Stamford Bridge.
The much-maligned Nicolas Jackson wrapped up the points in the closing stages with his 14th goal of a difficult first season with the Blues.
After losses to Arsenal and Newcastle, fifth-placed Tottenham’s third successive defeat leaves them seven points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa.
Tottenham have four games left, while Villa have three to go, making the north Londoners rank outsiders to finish in the Premier League’s top four.
It was another painful setback for Tottenham, who have squandered the good will built by Postecoglou for much of the Australian’s first season in charge.
While Postecoglou licks his wounds, Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino enjoyed a second win over his former club this season following the 4-1 success in November.
Pochettino had irritated Chelsea fans by admitting he couldn’t “hide his emotions” for the club he managed for five years and led to the 2019 Champions League final.
But he put those feelings aside to provide the result they wanted, keeping alive eighth-placed Chelsea’s hopes of qualifying for Europe and making it just one defeat in 34 home league games against Tottenham.
Postecoglou had criticised Tottenham’s sloppy performance in Sunday’s 3-2 defeat against Arsenal and responded by making five changes, with Richarlison brought in and James Maddison dropped.
But in Pochettino’s 400th match in English football, the Chelsea manager should have been celebrating a goal inside five minutes.
Jackson sprinted into the Tottenham area for a shot that went under Guglielmo Vicario but lacked the power to beat Mickey van de Ven’s clearance off the line, with Cole Palmer somehow scooping the loose ball over from close range.
Moments later, Chelsea winger Noni Madueke embarked on a dynamic run before firing just over from the edge of the area.
Four of the five goals conceded by Tottenham in their previous two games had come from set-pieces and they were punished for more woeful dead-ball marking in the 24th minute.
Conor Gallagher’s free-kick looped into the area and Chalobah was left unmarked to power a superb header over Vicario from 12 yards.
That made it 22 goals conceded from set plays in league games by Postecoglou’s creaky defence this term.
Tottenham claimed Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella had blocked Brennan Johnson from marking Chalobah, but VAR ignored their protests.
Mykhailo Mudryk’s deflected strike was held by Vicario before the Ukraine winger curled narrowly wide as Chelsea pushed for a second goal.
Undone by their set-piece frailties, Tottenham almost took advantage of Chelsea’s defensive deficiencies with a Cristian Romero header that clipped the post from Pedro Porro’s free-kick.
Postecoglou looked increasingly irate by the half-time whistle and his chastened players responded to their manager’s frustration with a more lively second-half display.
Porro’s drive from a tight angle forced Djordje Petrovic to save in Tottenham’s most threatening moment.
But Chelsea landed the knockout punch in the 72nd minute.
Palmer’s fierce free-kick cannoned down off the bar towards Jackson, who reacted quickest to head home from six yards.
AFP
Sports
A comprehensive 3-0 win for Chelsea move them to second on the table
By Ojomah Austin.
Dubbed as a match with competitive London derby, but it ended up being a masterclass from the visitors Chelsea as Enzo Maresca’s side claimed a very comprehensive 3-0 victory over West Ham in their Premier League encounter at London Stadium. Nicolas Jackson was particularly impressive early on as he recorded a first-half double and England’s Cole Palmer then later added a third.
Nicolas Jackson fired a slick Chelsea side second top of the Premier League table with a double in a 3-0 derby rout of an outclassed West Ham United at the London Stadium.
The lively visiting forward bounded into the home area from Jadon Sancho’s pass to slip home the home opener on four minutes before adding a fine second from a run and finish on 14 minutes later after being set up by Moises Caicedo’s probing pass.
Julen Lopetegui’s struggling side briefly threatened a response before the break, but Cole Palmer finished the match as a contest when he prodded the third in off a post on 47 minutes after being superbly played in by Jackson on the counter.
Enzo Maresca’s men have picked up 10 points from four games since losing to champions Manchester City on the opening day. They move above Arsenal on goal difference, two points behind City having played one more game.
West Ham are 14th in the table with one win from five, but have other matters on their minds as they seek to arrest a form slump that has seen them lose their first three home matches of a league campaign for the first time.
Sports
Champions League: Monaco shock Barcelona, Atalanta hold Arsenal
Monaco marked their return to the Champions League with a shock 2-1 win over Barcelona on Thursday night.
The Ligue 1 side have not played in the competition in five years, but they took the lead in front of their fans.
Maghnes Akilouche fired in for 1-0 after Barca were reduced to 10 men thanks to Eric Garcia’s red card.
And although Lamine Yamal equalized for the Catalans, George Ilenikhena found the winner for Monaco.
In Bergamo, Atalanta played out a 0-0 draw with Arsenal, with David Raya producing a remarkable double save from a penalty.
Atletico Madrid beat RB Leipzig 2-1 and Bayer Leverkusen thrashed Feyernood 4-0 in the Netherlands.
Sports
Champions League: PSG, Dortmund win, Inter Milan hold Man City
Paris Saint-Germain needed a late dose of luck to beat Girona 1-0 in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night.
The Ligue 1 champions toiled against the debutants at home for 88 minutes without finding the back of the net.
However, Nuno Mendes’ low cross was fumbled into his own net by goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga.
England Under-21 winger Jamie Gittens’ double set last year’s Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund on their way to a 3-0 victory at Club Brugge. Serhou Guirassy scored the third from the penalty spot.
Manchester City and Inter Milan played out a goalless draw at the Etihad.
In Scotland, Celtic thrashed Slovan Bratislava 5-1 to record their biggest win in the competition ever.
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