26/04 - 20:00
Efforts from Olivier Giroud and Marcos Alonso before an Anthony Rudiger own-goal eased pressure on Chelsea boss Frank Lampard as his side once again took the upper hand in the top four race.
Despite an early chance for Spurs through Lucas Moura, Chelsea took charge of the game and were rewarded in the 15th minute when Giroud, in a rare start, forced a save from countryman Hugo Lloris with Ross Barkley’s rebound hitting the post, Chelsea got a third chance though, with Giroud smashing home for the games opener.
Chelsea continued to take the game to Tottenham, and with just two minutes played of the second-half, Barkley laid the ball off to an onrushing Alonso who swept home for a 2-0 lead.
Barkley and Alonso both had further chances, with the latter striking the bar from a free-kick, but with two minutes to play Erik Lamela’s intended cut-back took a heavy deflection of Rudiger completely fooling Willy Caballero in the Chelsea net.
That was all for Spurs though, who missed the chance to leapfrog Chelsea into the top four with Sheffield United and Manchester United able to take their fifth place in the weekend’s remaining fixtures.
The game also featured even more VAR controversy, with Michael Oliver seeming to miss a clear red card for Giovanni Lo Celso on Cesar Azpilicueta, but the video team instructed the on-field official to maintain his original decision before admitting to BT Sports the decision was wrong post-game.
🗣 "I am not surprised that they've put it right, but it's not good enough..."
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) February 22, 2020
Frank Lampard tells @DesKellyBTS the failure to send off Giovani Lo Celso could have cost Chelsea three points... pic.twitter.com/rGi9Fwz4j0
2-1 | ||
Olivier Giroud 15' Marcos Alonso 48' Antonio Rudiger 89' (o.g.) |
