Tottenham 2-0 Chelsea: lessons learned for the Blues

Chelsea took on Tottenham Hotspur away from home as the Blues looked desperately to turn things around in a season that is rapidly turning sour. However, in a performance that was devoid of both fight as well as clear patterns of play, CFC allowed themselves to be rolled over in the second half as goals from Oliver Skipp and Harry Kane condemned Potter to back-to-back defeats in the Premier League. Here are the lessons learnt from Spurs 2, Chelsea 0.

Chelsea not good enough

No away wins in the league since October and only two wins since the beginning of November. Wherever you turn to, be it social media, the morning papers or the post-match commentary, damning statistics regarding Chelsea’s form permeate the senses. These are troublesome times for Graham Potter and it is almost inescapable now, just how badly the Englishman is underperforming in his role.

Sunday’s terrible performance came off the back of a week of fighting talk from both the club and Potter himself. Quotes directly addressing Potter’s supposed “lack of fight” and how the board are still fully backing him and his ability to carry the team through this crisis period were, unfortunately, not backed up by tangible performances and results on the pitch. Against a Spurs team that were not in a great vein of form who very much regard Chelsea as a bogey team – having never won against the Blues at their new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – Potter’s side simply failed to turn up. There was absolutely no desire or fight from the players and the team utterly collapsed, seemingly under the weight of the expectations placed upon them to turn things around, after Oliver Skipp opened the scoring for the home side.

As was the case against Southampton the weekend before, Potter once again had a full week to prepare his team for this crucial fixture against a fierce London rival. However, nothing on Sunday would suggest that Potter had made use of the time he had on the training ground to any particular effect. The performance remained flat and the players looked devoid of ideas on the pitch – often not for the lack of trying. This would seem to suggest that the issues on the pitch come from above the players, and land squarely on the shoulders of the manager. Potter just seems incapable of  bringing out the best in these group of players. More worrying is the lack of signs that things are going to get any better any time soon. Managers have been sacked for less at Chelsea, and as much as the new board continues to toe the line that “things are different now” and preach for patience, things are not looking great for the man in the CFC hotseat at the moment.