Chelsea stifle Tottenham while slamming the door on talk of discord

Is there really a toxic atmosphere in the Chelsea dressing room as certain sections of the media would love us all to believe? Are the players not performing for their manager as was the case with Jose Mourinho two years ago? Are Chelsea a team in decline?

A typical Chelsea ‘backs to the wall’ performance against Tottenham at Wembley would suggest that there is not much wrong between players and coach. The fight back they started during the second half of last week’s Burnley defeat continued at Tottenham’s new temporary home. The players may change, and managers may come and go but when the chips are down and the world is against them Chelsea FC know how to win.

Ahead of the game, the pressure was all on Antonio Conte. He was a dead man walking in the eyes of some, but he juggled the available players to perfection. Timeoue Bakayoko made his debut, and Andreas Christensen and Alvaro Morata made their first starts. Conte’s formation jammed up the midfield and constipated Tottenham’s attacking play.

Employing Conte’s ethic of work, work, work, the team’s hard work in the week following the Burnley defeat paid out in spades. As captain for the day, Cesar Azpilicueta personified the desire to win as the players lined up in the tunnel prior to kick off. His game face betrayed his usual calmness.

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Chelsea started well, but Tottenham bossed possession. The Blues had one shot on target in the first half. A stunning Marcos Alonso free kick in the first half which saw Chelsea go into the break 1-0 to the good.

The eleven players who started the game knew they were in for a long afternoon. Injuries and suspensions made for a very much-weakened bench. Pedro was the best option, but carrying an ankle injury, his fitness was in doubt. Conte made his first substitution in 78th minute when the ex-Barcelona playmaker made his entrance alongside Michy Batshuayi.

The change in personnel only worked in Tottenham’s favour, though. Batshuayi was unfortunate in putting the ball past Courtois from a Christian Eriksen free-kick shortly after coming on. With ten minutes remaining Tottenham were boosted by their 12th man. The 77,000 supporters in the stadium could only see a victory coming their way. For them it was not so much if, as when.

For those Spurs fans, the afternoon was set to end in a familiar Wembley disappointment. David Luiz, who had taken a leaf out of N’golo Kante’s book and become omnipresent for the afternoon, won the ball back from a poor Hugo Lloris throw. Marcos Alonso picked up the ball and played a one-two with Pedro before running onto the ball, which he fired under the diving goalkeeper. It was Chelsea’s only shot on target in the second half.

In a throwback to last season Antonio Conte was off and running. He dived in amongst his coaching staff. He was loving it, and so were the 3,000 Chelsea fans allowed into the stadium.

With this kind of commitment it is safe to say that despite the efforts of certain dark forces, Chelsea are going to be OK this season. And with players returning and hopefully new signings coming in, Cobham next week will seem like a new place.

Put simply, the answers to three questions at the start are…..no….no….and….no.

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There was one thing that was lacking though. The game was crying out for the expert, unbiased analysis of proceedings by ex-Spurs player Jermaine Jenas. What ever would he have made of it all?