There was an easy way and a hard way for Tottenham this week. All the easy way required was to get a point at Stamford Bridge and then they could finally relax, take a deep breath and start to think about the future. Sunday would have been a box-ticking exercise and who knows, shorn of the pressure of the league table, they might even have enjoyed it.
But the door that led to the easy way out of this remains firmly shut. Tottenham were simply not good enough to open it on Tuesday evening.
It should not have taken a lot to get a point here. Chelsea had not won a home league game since January. They played and lost the FA Cup final on Saturday. Calum McFarlane is coming to the end of his second interim spell in charge. If Spurs could just produce a basic level of competence and efficiency then they could get what they needed. Nottingham Forest’s B team found it easy enough here only a few weeks ago.
The simple story of Tuesday night, however, is that Tottenham were not good enough. Not good enough to turn situations into chances and chances into goals. Not good enough to stay focused and deny Chelsea the opportunity to hurt them. Not good enough to keep the game tight, turn the crowd and put Chelsea under pressure. And not good enough, ultimately, to open that door and stride confidently through it to guaranteed safety.
There is always the temptation to explain things through the prism of character and confidence. Tottenham have a terrible record at Stamford Bridge, a ground where they have won just once — in 2018 — since 1990. For months fans have feared that it was their destiny to get relegated here. It felt like Roberto De Zerbi’s job, the thing that would define this game, was to break the psychological grip Chelsea enjoy over Spurs.
Or maybe all that is just nonsense. And maybe these things just come down to simple matters of technique and execution. Because there were certainly moments here when Spurs tried to do the right things, tried to get the ball forward into dangerous positions. But almost every single time they did so, and worked the ball well, the final pass was not good enough.
Whether it was Randal Kolo Muani on the right or Mathys Tel on the left, the outcomes were largely the same. Sometimes the ball would hit the first man. Sometimes it would be easily gathered by Robert Sanchez. Sometimes it would fade away into the stands, like a balloon caught in a gust of wind. But it was never what Spurs needed. And the home crowd crowed with even more conviction every time it happened.
It did not help that Spurs did not have a genuinely creative player on the pitch until James Maddison came on in the second half. Everything that Conor Gallagher and Joao Palhinha did in possession was so telegraphed that Chelsea could start planning what they would do with the ball before they even won it. And when Spurs lost conviction and started to pass backwards, De Zerbi would often spin away in disgust.
But this was a night when Tottenham needed to be efficient, needed to be ruthless in the final third. And they were not. It was the same story against Leeds United last Monday. Spurs dominated long spells but never killed the game. Richarlison skied a golden chance to make it 2-0, but he missed it, and Spurs were clinging onto the draw by the end.
There is not much point criticising Tel, Richarlison and Kolo Muani right now. This was the third game in a row they have started together. All three of them are working as hard as they can. Some of their movements are exactly what De Zerbi would want. Ultimately they are Spurs’ only fit available senior forwards. De Zerbi has no option but to keep picking them.
But there is no avoiding the simple fact that they are not delivering when it matters. Tel has four league goals this season. Kolo Muani has just one, and looks further away from justifying his reputation with every appearance. Yes, Tel is a talented young player with a good attitude and a lot of upside. But Spurs do not need potential right now. They need production. Just ask Archie Gray or Lucas Bergvall, who have not started since Sunderland on April 12.
De Zerbi has fiercely defended his players ever since he took over. He has tried to build them up, to repair their shattered confidence, and remind them how good they can be. It has worked, in the sense that Spurs are still favourites to stay up on Sunday. But late on Tuesday night at Stamford Bridge he revealed something of his frustrations about Spurs’ misfiring attack. “In the last third of the pitch we made too many mistakes,” he said. “In the assist, in the last pass, the cross, in the finishing. I think we can show these values also in the last pass.”
The problem is that there is no reason to imagine that Sunday will be any different. De Zerbi does not have many other options. His three substitutions here were Pape Matar Sarr, Maddison and Djed Spence. Tottenham do not have reserves of goalscorers, or even of pace.
Maybe Dominic Solanke will recover enough to play a part but he has been out since April 25. Maddison could be an impact sub again but De Zerbi said he “cannot play more than 20 or 25” minutes. There is no cavalry coming to save the day.
Now Spurs have to do it the hard way. Having failed to open this door, they must now open a different one. It will be difficult, painful, and there is a genuine chance that it could end in disaster. And they must do it, under more pressure than they have ever experienced before, with these same players who have just failed to beat Chelsea and Leeds, who have been unable to make it count when it matters most. The future of this football club rests on the outcome next time being different.