Tottenham supporters chanted ‘You don’t know what you’re doing’ at Ange Postecoglou as their side fell to a 1-0 defeat at Chelsea.
As their fierce local rivals boosted their Champions League qualification chances at Stamford Bridge thanks to Enzo Fernandez’s free header, frustration boiled over in the away end as the Spurs fans, who had been chanting against the club’s board throughout the game, turned their ire on their manager.
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Enzo Fernandez heads home Chelsea opener against Tottenham Hotspur
Postecoglou’s call to switch Lucas Bergvall for Pape Sarr drew boos from the travelling fans – and Postecoglou appeared to respond by cupping his ears. It follows Mathys Tel going into the away end to talk with supporters after the defeat at Fulham last time out, when Postecoglou was also caught on camera having a row with a fan.
Spurs are languishing in 14th in the Premier League and as a result their priority is their Europa League quarter-final with Eintracht Frankfurt next week. But any hope of building confidence and momentum from a big derby day performance disappeared. Tensions between fans and manager are now an issue too.
The visitors were better after the break, following a first half in which Nicolas Jackson troubled Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven from the first minute, Destiny Udogie denied Enzo Fernandez on the goal-line, Guglielmo Vicario had to save brilliantly from Jadon Sancho and Spurs failed to have a shot on target.
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Tottenham Hotspur’s Guglielmo Vicario makes crucial save to deny Chelsea’s Jadon Sancho’s strike
However, after Sarr’s long-range strike was ruled out following a VAR check and Sanchez saved from Heung-min Son, it was Chelsea celebrating an important result and looking forward to their run-in with relish.
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VAR disallows Pape Matar Sarr equaliser VAR disallows Sarr equaliser for Spurs after challenge on Caicedo!
They had seen a goal ruled out of their own – Moises Caicedo’s crisp volley scrubbed off after a four-minute VAR check judged Levi Colwill offside – but were deserved winners. A fifth home win on the spin has lifted Chelsea up to fourth in the table and their Champions League chase is looking good.
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VAR denies stunning Moises Caicedo volley after close offside decision during Chelsea’s Premier League clash against Tottenham Hotspur
A Conference League tie with Legia Warsaw is also coming up and their fans will look to their decisive games ahead with more confidence now than their Spurs-supporting counterparts.
More to follow…