Chelsea: The Battle of the Bridge defined a modern rivalry

Some games just take on their own importance and get titled. Chelsea versus Tottenham’s infamous Battle of the Bridge has defined a rivalry.

Stamford Bridge has hosted many battles. But on 2 May, 2016, an absolute war broke out that changed the course of Premier League history forever. The match has gone on to define the modern rivalry between Tottenham and Chelsea.

The match did not happen in a vacuum. Tottenham had slowly been gaining in strength over the years. The first big moment of the modern rivalry was surely when Tottenham defeated Chelsea 5-3 on New Year’s Day 2015. That caused Jose Mourinho to take Chelsea’s swashbuckling tactics and rein them in to something far more conservative (something he has not truly escaped since). The Blues would go on to defeat Tottenham easily in the League Cup final just months later.

But things began to reach their peak the following season. Chelsea infamously fell to bits in their title defense. Tottenham kept pushing for the title with only one challenger: Leicester City. As Tottenham came to Stamford Bridge, they knew anything short of a win would cost them the title. But with the Blues being as down trodden as they were that season, they believed victory was already assured.

Tottenham had a strange game plan on paper. Their goal was seemingly to rile Chelsea up, get in their head, and let the Blues defeat themselves. That in of itself is not a bad strategy (regardless of how tasteful it is), but it is a fine line to walk. Just as one is trying to rile the other team up and get in their head, it is easy to slip into getting riled up and getting in their own head. The abyss gazes also.

A few challenges later, Spurs went too far into their own strategy. Tottenham targeted Diego Costa because of his disposition but only got caught in the act by the viewers (not by Mark Clattenburg who decided to let this game devolve into a pub game as planned his summer vacation). Jan Vertonghen narrowly missed a stamp on Costa. Not long after, a brawl broke out on the side line lead by Mauricio Pochettino himself. During it, Moussa Dembele thought it would be a good idea to jam his finger in Costa’s eye. It went unpunished during the match (he was later banned six games for it).

Of course, Tottenham’s strategy was working on some level. They were up 2-0 by halftime at the Bridge. The Blues were shaken by the altercations but they were not broken by them. Whatever Guus Hiddink may have said in the locker room may have provided the secret for the Blues. They did not need to defeat Tottenham; they only needed to let Tottenham defeat themselves.

Gary Cahill led the charge. The ball came in from a corner and rose over John Terry’s reach. It bobbled in the box and Cahill ran up and struck it with his week foot on the half volley.

The Blues were back in the match mentally and began peppering the Tottenham goal. Then Eden Hazard scored what is perhaps one of his greatest goals of all time. Hazard played the ball towards Costa. Costa held it up, and flicked it into the path Hazard was cutting in to. With one touch, Hazard curled the ball into the top right corner. The ego Spurs came into the match with and the strategy of riling the Blues up both deflated in that instance.

But it is hard to turn that type of aggression off once it is on, especially if it is not working. Erik Lamela added his name to the stamp’s column. The match continued along those same lines as the final whistle blew.

But things were not done yet. As they went to exit the pitch, knowing Leicester were champions, another fight broke out. Hiddink, 69 at the time, was knocked over in the altercation. Hiddink, a judo and wrestling master, took the fall in stride but it was still an abhorrent reaction by all those involved.

The animosity between the two sides has not and likely will not go away. Especially with Mourinho at Tottenham now, there is a new age to the rivalry. It has never gotten as heated as that day, but the match up has not cooled down either. Chelsea had similar encounters with Liverpool in the Aughts, but the Battle of the Bridge stands alone on what it means.

Tottenham came to the Bridge with the goal of getting into Chelsea’s heads and continuing their title challenge. They succeeded, on some level, but the Blues had mastered the dark arts long before Tottenham. They let the North London side defeat themselves and the world was there to see it happen. Leicester won the title and Tottenham continued to be Spursy. The rest is history still being written.