As the clock ticked over into added time at the end of a distinctly ordinary match, Moises Caicedo, a distinctly extraordinary player, dispossessed Mohammed Kudus near the half-way line and set off down the left flank.
He rode one challenge but then a Spurs player brought him down. Still Caicedo would not be vanquished. As he lay on the turf, he swung his right leg at the ball and won a throw-in before he was engulfed in the congratulations of teammates who knew quite how much his spirit had counted in Chelsea’s approaching victory.
The victory lifted Chelsea up to fourth place in the Premier League, for some time at least, and was heavy with hints that they can kick on from here and become one of the leading challengers to Arsenal.
This had felt like a pivotal clash for Enzo Maresca and his players and they came through it impressively. It was not a classic performance but it was full of guts and resilience and a refusal to yield.
It was Caicedo whose hunger and strength and perseverance and refusal to accept a lost cause had created the only goal of the game for Joao Pedro in the first half. Reece James was not far behind him in the game’s most influential players.
No Spurs players made the top ten of that list. This was a desperately poor performance from Thomas Frank’s side, which looked devoid of attacking threat, stripped of belief and devoid of assurance.
Spurs were wretched. They may have remained in third place in the table but they managed one shot on target in the entire game. They were booed off at the final whistle and they deserved to be. This was the kind of display that asks questions about the club’s prospects after a bright start to the season.
The crowd here was dismayed by it. Once again, they were entitled to be. It even had some of them pining for Ange Postecoglou. With every performance like this, the lustre of Postecoglou’s penultimate game in charge, the Europa League triumph over Manchester United in Bilbao last season, will glow brighter.
There were other worrying signs for the home team. Djed Spence and Micky van de Ven marched straight past Frank and down the tunnel as he seemed to be suggesting to them that they should stay and acknowledge the supporters. Frank has much to do if things are not to curdle in N17.
Spurs suffered a blow inside the first five minutes when Lucas Bergvall was hit on the back of the head by a Chelsea clearance. The incident seemed innocuous but the impact did knock Bergvall off his feet and he seemed confused.
It was much to the credit of the Spurs medics who treated him that they were clearly unhappy with the idea of him returning to the pitch after they had conducted concussion protocols.
Bergvall protested but the physios were adamant. Too often, clubs still seem to look the other way when a head injury takes place, even now, but Spurs refused to do that. Bergvall was replaced by Xavi Simons.
Spurs found it hard to regroup. They were outplayed by Chelsea for the first half an hour. Alejandro Garnacho and Pedro Neto caused issues down the flanks without ever creating clear chances. When Guglielmo Vicario went down with a convenient injury, the Frank beckoned the entire Spurs team to the bench to give them a tactics talk.
It did not have the desired effect immediately. A minute later, an attempted Spurs clearance rebounded off Garnacho and put Joao Pedro clean through on goal. It was a glorious chance but the Chelsea forward hit it straight at Vicario and he saved it with his legs.
MATCH FACTS
Tottenham (4-2-2-2): Vicario 6; Porro 5 (Udogie 73, 5), Danso 5 (Romero 60, 6), Van de Ven 5, Spence 4.5; Palhinha 5, Bentancur 4 (Richarlison 60, 5); Bergvall 5.5 (Simons 7, 3) (Johnson 73, 5), Sarr 4; Kudus 5, Kolo Muani 4 (Odobert 73, 5)
Subs (not used): Kinsky, Tel, Scarlett
Booked: Bentancur, Danso, Simons, Kudus
Manager: Thomas Frank 3
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sanchez 8; Gusto 6.5 (Lavia 76), Fofana 7.5 (Adarabioyo 89), Chalobah 7.5, Cucurella 6.5; James 8, Caicedo 9; Neto 6 (Estevao 85), Fernandez 7, Garnacho 6 (Gittens 66, 5); Joao Pedro 7
Subs (not used): Jorgensen, Santos, Hato, Acheampong, Guiu
Scorers: Joao Pedro (34)
Booked: Chalobah, Fernandez
Manager: Enzo Maresca 7.5
Referee: Jarred Gillett 5
Attendance: not provided
Not content with that escape, Spurs decided to give Chelsea another go. Spence lost the ball to Caicedo on the edge of the area but when Spurs recovered the ball, they gave it away again.
This time, Micky van de Ven and Xavi Simons were way too casual and Caicedo won the ball back again. He played a short square pass to Joao Pedro, who swept the ball past Vicario. It was an awful goal to give away. On the touchline, Frank marched back to the dug-out and booted a water bottle for all he was worth.
Chelsea nearly went further ahead three minutes before half time. Neto fed Malo Gusto who cut his cross back into the path of Joao Pedro 12 yards out. Joao Pedro lashed the ball towards the roof of the net but Vicario produced a fine reaction save to push it over the bar.
Tottenham’s evening should have got a lot worse in added time at the end of the first half when Rodrigo Bentancur caught Reece James with a nasty late tackle on his ankle that looked like an obvious straight red card. Referee Jarred Gillett chose only to brandish a yellow.
Spurs got their first hint of a chance early in the second half when a Kevin Danso long throw eluded the leaps of Chelsea defenders and fell to Bentancur in the box. Bentancur was too startled to take advantage of his fortune and Chelsea resumed their superiority.
Spurs were so distinctly second best that their supporters seemed stunned by their mediocrity. Chelsea pressed for another goal and a cross from Garnacho was just too far behind Neto for him to be able to guide it into the net.
Garnacho was substituted soon afterwards, which has often been his fate since he arrived at Stamford Bridge. That is what happens when you pay £40m for a winger with a huge ego and very little end product.
And now it was Chelsea’s turn to escape a red. Enzo Fernandez took out Joao Palhinha just below the knee but as the Spurs crowd bayed for an instant dismissal, Mr Gillett, once more, was content with a yellow.
Simons, who had come on for Bergvall in the first half and made very little impression, was himself substituted with little under 20 minutes to go as Spurs desperately tried to inject some conviction and penetration into their game.
They tried but they did not succeed. Chelsea should have scored twice more in added time. First, Joao Pedro squared the ball unselfishly to Jamie Gittens, who only had Vicario to beat. Gittens leaned back and lifted the ball high over the bar.
Joao Pedro put his head in his hands as he wondered at the profligacy of his teammate but seconds later, he became the culprit. This time, he only had Vicario to beat but when he tried to force his shot past him, Vicario made himself big and produced a fine save to deflect the shot wide.
A 1-0 defeat flattered Spurs. They were lucky to escape with that. Chelsea, who would have slipped into the bottom half of the table if they had lost, can afford to start looking up.