January 06, (THEWILL) – A 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge was all Chelsea needed to take a comfortable lead heading into the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final clash against Tottenham Hotspur.
The hosts won courtesy of a heavily deflected Kai Havertz strike and a Ben Davies own goal following a misguided header from Japhet Tanganga. It was a game that Spurs manager Antonio Conte will want to forget being his first return to Stamford Bridge since he was fired in 2018.
Chelsea started brightly with Romelu Lukaku in the lineup and took an early lead thanks to a glaring error from Tanganga. Marcos Alonso intercepted the Tottenham defender’s loose pass looking for Emerson before teeing up Havertz, whose placed effort deflected off Davinson Sanchez’s foot and into the net.
With Tottenham failing to register a shot on target and failing to maintain a meaningful share of possession in the first half, the hosts pushed for more goals and scored a second in the 35th minute thanks to another Tanganga error.
The 22-year-old attempted to head away Hakim Ziyech’s dangerous free-kick, but instead it clattered off Davies and beyond the helpless Hugo Lloris in goal.
Tottenham started the second half strongly, and Kepa Arrizabalaga was put to the test for the first time when he parried a Harry Kane free-kick in the 48th minute.
In an otherwise uneventful half, substitutes Tanguy Ndombele and Timo Werner both saw shots fly narrowly over the bar, while Lucas Moura and Hakim Ziyech later saw their acrobatic strikes go wide.
Late on, Giovani Lo Celso saw a first-time near-post effort saved by Kepa, while Lukaku’s close-range effort in injury time lacked enough force to test Lloris, as the hosts cruised to victory.
In the end, Tottenham produced one of their most dismal performances under Conte in what could turn out to be a pivotal encounter in their season. Conte will have to consider what positive alterations he can make to his starting lineup before the reverse fixture.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
