Premier League

Tottenham Hotspur got back to winning ways after a rampant first-half performance secured them a 5-0 victory over Southampton at St. Mary’s Stadium.

Spurs scored five goals in the first half of a Premier League match for the first time, with James Maddison setting the tone by netting inside the first minute, a blow the Saints never recovered from.

Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski then added a quickfire double, before Pape Sarr struck in the 25th minute against a struggling Southampton defence.

Maddison compounded the hosts’ misery by bending in a fifth in the final minute of first-half stoppage time, giving Ange Postecoglou’s team a much-needed boost as they ended a five-match winless run in all competitions.

Despite an improved second half, Southampton remain bottom of the Premier League, while Tottenham move up to 10th, just five points off the top four.

How the match unfolded

Spurs' onslaught began after just 36 seconds when Djed Spence, making his first Premier League start for the club, slid in Maddison to slot home an opener.

Maddison played his part in the second too, with his deflected cross setting up Son to crack a left-footed effort underneath Alex McCarthy before Kulusevski tapped in a third two minutes later when the ball ricocheted to him inside the box.

Sarr’s clever footwork then opened up Southampton’s defence for the fourth time as he side-stepped his marker to slot home, with some home fans heading for the exit in response.

Spurs had time for one more goal on the stroke of half-time, Son rolling the ball down the line for Maddison to curl into the top corner from a tight angle.

The visitors took their foot off the gas after the break as Southampton showed some character, but they were denied a late consolation as Mateus Fernandes had strayed into an offside position.

Unholy night for Saints

Some of the Southampton faithful had already left their seats by the time Spurs eased into their 4-0 lead, reflecting a nightmare evening that was over having barely begun.

As Spurs scored at will, some minds were doubtless even drifting back to October 2019 and February 2021, when the Saints were beaten 9-0 by Leicester City and Manchester United respectively.

If they had not already – Maddison scoring the visitors' fifth just before half-time – a goal Russell Martin missed having headed back to the dressing room to prepare a difficult team talk – may well have provoked the same sense of doom that defined those previous beatings.

While Martin's side were carved open too easily, they do at least deserve credit for the way heads did not drop during the second period.

Kyle Walker-Peters and Nathan Wood went close, and the home support that had stayed responded, admirably getting behind their side, only being denied a small chance to cheer by the assistant referee’s flag.

This game must quickly be eradicated from Southampton minds, but that spirit must be maintained to give them a chance of recovering from it.

Spurs' sensational start

Tottenham's early blitz meant this game was all but won inside half an hour as Postecoglou's side tore into their visitors.

While Maddison’s strike got the ball rolling, it was the next three goals that broke the back of the game, with Son scoring in his 100th different Premier League match.

That was not the end of the chances, with Son being denied by McCarthy on a couple of occasions before the fifth came just before the half-time whistle.

The pressure on Postecoglou’s shoulders may not be gone just yet, but the white half of north London will certainly feel more confident in their ability again, especially ahead of games against Manchester United and Liverpool to come this week.

Next PL fixtures

Watch the SIX-GOAL thriller the last time Southampton faced Spurs

Six goals, including five in the second half, as Saints and Spurs shared the points in March 2023

PGMOL and the Premier League are opening up discussions between the referee and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for key incidents this season. In the latest instalment of "Match Officials Mic'd Up" in 2024/25, Howard Webb, chief operating officer at PGMOL, discusses five recent incidents.

Webb and Michael Owen go through the conversations between the match officials to give fans greater knowledge of how decisions are made. The officials on the pitch do not hear all the conversations from the VAR hub in Stockley Park.

The incidents covered are:

- Caicedo's challenge v Spurs

- Ndidi's tackle v Chelsea

- Cairney's red card v Spurs

- Norgaard's red card v Everton

- Stephens' red card v Chelsea

- Southampton's penalty v Liverpool

Caicedo's challenge v Spurs

Incident: Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Pape Sarr is dribbling when caught on the shin by the outstretched foot of Chelsea's Moises Caicedo.

What the match officials did: Referee Anthony Taylor gives a free-kick to Spurs and doesn't award a yellow card to Caicedo. VAR Jarred Gillett acknowledges Caicedo catches Sarr, but believes there isn't enough impact to warrant a "clear and obvious error" of the referee's call and ask Taylor to review the decision.

Owen: "Howard, do you think that a red card should have been shown there?"

Webb: "I think a yellow card should have been shown. Caicedo received no disciplinary sanction for that action. I think his actions are reckless. I know there was talk about the possibility of this being a red card. Some people felt it was. It's not a red card for me. This is a situation where Moises Caicedo goes to swing to kick a ball, which is kicked away from him by Pape Sarr.

"That swinging action continues into the leg of Sarr. You'll see the foot comes through. It comes off really quickly, back on to the ground. Slow motion can sometimes distort reality. When you watch it at full speed, it hits the shin and comes down into the ground. For me, that's reckless. It's not serious foul play because it's not excessive force. It doesn't endanger the safety of Pape Sarr."

Owen: "Is that what saves him? That if he actually follows through here, it could be a leg-breaker. It is, quite high. But the fact that his foot then plants, it's not got so much power behind it."

Webb: "It is high. But slow motion, freeze frames, can make something look quite different. At full speed, there's no real energy coming through that foot into the shin. It comes off really quickly. So there's not the kind of exertion of force through into the opponent's leg which would do the damage. This hits the leg and comes off quickly.

"It's an action to strike, not forcing all his weight through that front foot. So it should be a yellow card for reckless action, but falls short of being serious foul play because it's a kick to the leg and then it comes off quickly as opposed to that force being driven through into the opponent’s leg."

See: Rules for serious foul play

Ndidi's tackle v Chelsea

Incident: Leicester City's Wilfred Ndidi is chasing Chelsea's Cole Palmer and dives in, proceeding to catch him on the back of his legs.

What the match officials did: Referee Andy Madley awards a foul from Ndidi, to whom he shows a yellow card, believing there to be not enough intensity to merit a sending-off. The VAR checks for serious foul play and says most of the contact is on Palmer's heel and isn't sufficient for the decision to be overturned.

Owen: "Caicedo [not being a red card], I can accept that. [With Ndidi] I'm very, very surprised he's not been given a red card."

Webb: "I’d prefer a red card in this situation for a few reasons. This is a tackle from behind by Ndidi. The contact is on a pretty vulnerable part of Cole Palmer's anatomy, by the Achilles. The actual contact initially is with the instep as opposed to with the studs. He comes in and doesn't really have a great chance of winning the ball.

"He makes contact higher on the leg and then slides down. The most forceful contact, where the studs really come in, is on the heel. But still there's a lot of force. There’s contact before that on the Achilles. And when you factor all of those things in: the way he comes into the tackle, the mode of contact where it makes contact, this is much more aligned with serious foul play that endangers Cole Palmer's safety.

"Now the VAR looked at that. The referee's call was a yellow card for a reckless tackle. The VAR felt that because that contact came down quite quickly on to the heel, on to the boot, it didn't go past the threshold for being a 'clear and obvious error' and 'check-completed' the yellow card.

"We've looked at this collectively, among the officials, talked about this, and we would prefer this to be dealt with with a red card. We have to protect player safety. That contact stays on the legs for quite some time, by the way, unlike what we saw with Caicedo when it came off very quickly. So different part of the body, different type of contact, different level of danger to the opponent.

"In this case, Coach Palmer thankfully wasn't seriously injured. But these sorts of tackles need to be dealt with through a red card.

Owen: "Absolutely. Because you see the force. Both feet are off the ground. And obviously the first contact was on the Achilles tendon. So that, to me as an ex-footballer, that is a damaging tackle as opposed to the first one."

Cairney's red card v Spurs

Incident: Fulham's Tom Cairney commits a foul on Spurs' Dejan Kulusevski by lunging on him from behind.

What the match officials did: Referee Darren Bond issues Cairney a yellow card. However Craig Pawson the VAR deems that the nature of the foul constitute's serious foul play and recommends an on-field review to Bond. After review, Bond awards Cairney a red card.

Webb: "There are some similarities, [with the Caicedo and Ndidi fouls], some differences as well. So in this situation Tom Cairney’s studs come in to the back of Kulusevski’s calf. And it stays there, it stays high. He ends up with all of his body weight going through. The other foot comes up. It causes that almost twisting of the ankle as well.

"So a really dangerous tackle misread on the field by the referee, who's looking from behind. Sometimes it's not so easy to see things from behind. He gives a yellow. And it's a good example of VAR coming in to rectify a very clear and obvious error in the referee's call. And a good example of serious foul play endangering the safety of the opponent."

Owen: "When the referee went to the monitor, he actually saw in real-time first as well. We like that, I presume."

Webb: "Yes. If you slow things down and pause them in certain moments, you can make it look horrendously bad. And we were criticized quite heavily in the early days of VAR for showing things in slow-motion, pausing things, showing the referee at the screen just a freeze-frame of something that looks really bad that when you play in full speed, it looks quite different.

"So we've said to the VARs, analyze it in full speed. When you get to the screen, show it in full speed, then show it in a slower motion if you need to identify the exact point of contact. This one was done in that way."

Norgaard's overturned red card v Everton

Incident: A ball is played across Everton's six-yard box and Brentford's Christian Norgaard attempts to get to it before Jordan Pickford. He does not reach the ball and instead catches Pickford on his knee.

What the match officials did: Referee Chris Kavanagh awards Everton a free-kick for the a foul on Pickford. VAR official Matt Donohue recommends Kavanagh to review the incident for serious foul play. After review, Kavanagh issues Norgaard a red card.

However, Brentford later appealed against the red card decision and were successful in getting it rescinded.

Webb: "I was surprised by the the outcome of the appeal. Of course, I respect the judgment of the panel. I would have expected them to see this in the way I did as an act of serious foul play when the studs go into the knee of Jordan Pickford as it endangers his safety.

"So they made a judgment that it wasn't at that level, that the decision was incorrect. But I didn't agree with that judgment."

Owen: "I have a slightly different view. When I'm a centre-forward thinking about scoring here - you'd agree he's not trying to injure Jordan Pickford here - if that's in the middle of the pitch then I agree that's probably a red card. You're never going to tell any goalscorer it might hurt this person or that person. You've got to try to score. No sympathy there [for Norgaard]? Is there no way you can change the rule in any way?"

Webb: "I do sympathize. And like you, I don't think that Christian Norgaard has gone in there to try to hurt Jordan Pickford any way. He's gone to try to get something on a ball in front of goal. But to do that, he's had to stretch out with a raised foot, with studs exposed to an opponent who's in front of him, and we have to deal with consequences.

"We have to identify whether or not the actions have endangered the opponent's safety. When Norgaard does that, he's obviously hoping to get the ball, but there's a risk associated with it. There's a risk of stretching in in that way. Now, we also heard the referee on the clip talk about how the leg straightens.

"Well, he actually does after the ball is just gone past the leg straightens a little bit into Pickford. That's something the official saw as well. So there's quite a lot of force going into that vulnerable part of the body with a knee from the studs. There's a risk when he when lunges in that way. And when he fails to make contact with the ball and makes contact with Pickford in this way, the consequences are that his safety is in danger and therefore it's an act of serious play."

Stephens' red card v Chelsea

Incident: At a Southampton corner, Marc Cucurella is marking Jack Stephens and before the ball is sent into the penalty area, the Saints defender pulls the Chelsea defender's hair.

What the match officials did: Referee Tony Harrington stops play and the VAR tells him to delay the restart. The VAR recommends an on-field review for violent conduct. After review, Harrington issues Stephens a red card.

Owen: "OK, so what are the exact rules when it comes to hair pulling?"

Webb: "When we're looking at assessing a possible violent-conduct act, contact to the head or the face that's more than negligible is violent conduct. If I slap you, if I push you to the head of the face, that's violent conduct in a way that it wouldn't be if it was to the body or the chest necessarily.

"In terms of hair pulling, there is an accepted position whereby when you tug somebody's hair, you get sent off. It's seen as violent conduct, maybe just a touch of the hair would be negligible. So that wouldn't be. But as soon as you start tugging people's hair, then you are almost certainly going to get sent off for violent conduct because it's more than negligible contact."

Owen: "Is that violent conduct? I mean it's three games. He's going to get four games now because it's his second red card of the season. Is it not more ungentlemanly conduct? Is it really violent?"

Webb: "It just crosses that line of acceptable behaviour on the field of play. If you start pulling people's hair, there's absolutely no reason to do that. People don't want to see that happening. And therefore players understand. In most circumstances, it will be seen as more than negligible contact when you start tugging hair, and you're going to get a red card. And, I can't imagine that Jack Stevens will make that mistake again."

See: Rules for violent conduct

Southampton's penalty v Liverpool

Incident: Southampton's Tyler Dibling is running towards the Liverpool penalty area when he is brought down by Liverpool left-back Andrew Robertson.

What the match officials did: The assistant referee believes the foul is committed on the line of the area and so referee Sam Barrott issues a penalty to Southampton. The VAR and AVAR confirm Barrott's on-field call.

Webb: "I like the process throughout this situation. You see Sam Barrott, the referee, identify the foul, penalize the foul and consult with his on-field colleague for the location. The information he receives is that it's inside the penalty area or at least on the line, so he gives a penalty kick. The VAR then has the job of trying to identify whether or not the award of a penalty kick is clearly and obviously wrong.

"There could be two ways it could be wrong. It could be not foul or it could be outside the penalty area. Michael Oliver, the VAR, quickly identifies that is a foul. Then [he] does some work to identify whether or not it's inside or outside [the penalty area].

"And it's not totally conclusive there is some contact between the two legs. Looks like it's over the line, but maybe Dibling is already falling a little bit. But the VAR determines that you can't say it's conclusively wrong. It has to be [conclusively wrong] for him to get involved here. So therefore we refer back to the on-field decision."

Glossary of terms

VAR: Video Assistant Referee; AVAR: Assistant Video Assistant Referee; RO: replay operator; APP: attacking phase of play.

UK users can watch the whole "Match Officials Mic'd Up" video on Sky Sports and TNT Sports. International users can access the full video with their local rights-holder.

Also in this series

Chelsea’s impressive start to life under head coach Enzo Maresca continued with a thrilling comeback win at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Trailing by two goals within the opening 11 minutes, the Blues were excellent value for the three points that put them clear in second place in the Premier League. For Spurs, by contrast, it was a third league match without a win, as they slipped to 11th in the table.

When it came to slipping, Chelsea left-back Marc Cucurella made a costly start to the encounter. The Spain international had to change his boots after slipping in the build-up to both Spurs goals. Crucially for the visitors, though, they hit back quickly thanks to a Jadon Sancho strike from outside the box.

Two poor challenges from Spurs then gave Cole Palmer chances from the penalty spot – first to equalise, then to add a fourth goal, the latter with an ice-cool Panenka. In between, Enzo Fernandez had lashed home to put Chelsea ahead, while Son Heung-min’s finish in stoppage time was too little, too late for Ange Postecoglou’s team.

How the managers saw it

“Both penalties were poor on our behalf,” said Postecoglou. “They're self-inflicted and unnecessary challenges. We've given them two goals away for no reason and given ourselves a mountain to climb, which proved too hard.”

“There was no problem first half,” said Maresca. “The only thing was watching the way they were pressing. First half we had Cole Palmer on one side, and Enzo Fernandez on the other. Second half we had Palmer on one side, and Cucurella on the other, and we changed something in behind. It was for this reason, it worked quite well and we won the game.”

Spurs win the ball high up early on

Postecoglou’s team started the match with an incredible pressing intensity, immediately defending well into Chelsea’s half. In wide areas, Spurs’ winger and full-back pairings jumped forward with purpose onto their direct opponents, as shown below. The home side then placed immediate pressure on Chelsea’s initial double-pivot of Romeo Lavia and Fernandez.

Although Palmer was finding significant space between the opposition midfield and backline, Chelsea weren’t able to find their talisman due to Spurs’ strong duelling and high regains.

Spurs began the match by limiting Chelsea’s deeper build-up, which gave Postecoglou's side an immediate attacking platform. Indeed, Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski scored after regains from Cucurella to give Spurs their two-goal lead.

With Spurs’ press disrupting Chelsea’s build-up, Chelsea right-back Moises Caicedo started to invert into midfield, giving his team a brief numerical advantage in that part of the pitch. Spurs’ wingers responded by narrowing and dropping back, no longer putting pressure on Chelsea’s backline as often.

Although Spurs’ midfield trio maintained their pressing intensity, they needed support from one of their centre-backs – stepping into midfield – to combat Chelsea’s box. This was initially Cristian Romero (see below), until he went off injured in the 15th minute, to be replaced by Radu Dragusin. And as the game progressed, Chelsea began to find solutions to Spurs’ pressing.

Chelsea’s improved movement in midfield

Palmer’s movements to wide right helped to pull his marker away, freeing central spaces for Chelsea’s pivots to receive and play forward.

Similar movements from Fernandez towards the left had the same effect, as Spurs no longer pushed a centre-back into midfield to mark player-for-player. The home team’s wingers now had to work back, meaning they were no longer able to press as high as often.

Caicedo and Lavia began to connect more, not least in the move that fed the ball into Sancho, shown below, which culminated in his superb bending strike halving the deficit.

In response, Spurs attempted to place earlier pressure on Chelsea’s double-pivots; their No 8s jumping early onto Caicedo and Lavia. But Palmer and Fernandez were making much wider movements, which created passing lanes that Spurs’ single-pivot Yves Bissouma simply could not cover. Nicolas Jackson then stretched beyond, stopping a Spurs centre-back from jumping into midfield.

Intelligent forward passes from Lavia, in particular, prompted Spurs’ midfield to continue jumping aggressively, but they had little time to react and readjust underneath the ball. As a result, Chelsea began to dominate possession and create well-worked attacks.

A few poor passes from Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez did give Spurs some opportunities for high regains as the first half played out. On the whole, though, the widening movements from Palmer and Fernandez in Chelsea’s 3-2-4-1 gave them a strong platform to attack and feed the direct runs of their frontline.

Maresca adjusts the left side

Malo Gusto replaced Lavia at half-time, slotting in at right-back, with Caicedo now a permanent double-pivot alongside Fernandez. Left-back Cucurella advanced high to support inside Sancho, with Palmer initially central as a No 10, working off Jackson.

But when Palmer shifted to the right, additional space was created for Cucurella and Sancho to work dangerous crosses and passes into the penalty area. Runs from one of Chelsea’s pivots gave the visitors an extra attacking edge, as Spurs pulled almost everybody back to defend.

In the 61st minute, Caicedo burst forward to support inside of Cucurella and Sancho, and was brought down for Chelsea's first penalty of the match.

At 2-2, Cucurella continued operating as Chelsea’s left No 10, with Palmer now permanently in the right-inside channel. Spurs were inconsistent in their marking and defending of the central spaces, particularly on Cucurella.

Whenever Dragusin moved out of the backline to cover Cucurella, Chelsea attacked 1v1 and played forward with purpose, having regular runners beyond and numbers well into Spurs’ half.

When Cucurella moved deeper, Kulusevski picked him up, which allowed Fernandez to link play forward. Chelsea became dominant, and it was Fernandez who ran forward through the inside-left channel to half-volley past Fraser Forster and put his team in front.

From there, Maresca’s team tightened the screw, with a two-goal cushion coming courtesy of their second penalty. After the match, the Italian head coach downplayed his side’s title chances, but for now results suggest they are one of the teams with a genuine chance of finishing top in May.

Chelsea’s impressive start to life under head coach Enzo Maresca continued with a thrilling comeback win at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Trailing by two goals within the opening 11 minutes, the Blues were excellent value for the three points that put them clear in second place in the Premier League. For Spurs, by contrast, it was a third league match without a win, as they slipped to 11th in the table.

When it came to slipping, Chelsea left-back Marc Cucurella made a costly start to the encounter. The Spain international had to change his boots after slipping in the build-up to both Spurs goals. Crucially for the visitors, though, they hit back quickly thanks to a Jadon Sancho strike from outside the box.

Two poor challenges from Spurs then gave Cole Palmer chances from the penalty spot – first to equalise, then to add a fourth goal, the latter with an ice-cool Panenka. In between, Enzo Fernandez had lashed home to put Chelsea ahead, while Son Heung-min’s finish in stoppage time was too little, too late for Ange Postecoglou’s team.

How the managers saw it

“Both penalties were poor on our behalf,” said Postecoglou. “They're self-inflicted and unnecessary challenges. We've given them two goals away for no reason and given ourselves a mountain to climb, which proved too hard.”

“There was no problem first half,” said Maresca. “The only thing was watching the way they were pressing. First half we had Cole Palmer on one side, and Enzo Fernandez on the other. Second half we had Palmer on one side, and Cucurella on the other, and we changed something in behind. It was for this reason, it worked quite well and we won the game.”

Spurs win the ball high up early on

Postecoglou’s team started the match with an incredible pressing intensity, immediately defending well into Chelsea’s half. In wide areas, Spurs’ winger and full-back pairings jumped forward with purpose onto their direct opponents, as shown below. The home side then placed immediate pressure on Chelsea’s initial double-pivot of Romeo Lavia and Fernandez.

Although Palmer was finding significant space between the opposition midfield and backline, Chelsea weren’t able to find their talisman due to Spurs’ strong duelling and high regains.

Spurs began the match by limiting Chelsea’s deeper build-up, which gave Postecoglou's side an immediate attacking platform. Indeed, Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski scored after regains from Cucurella to give Spurs their two-goal lead.

With Spurs’ press disrupting Chelsea’s build-up, Chelsea right-back Moises Caicedo started to invert into midfield, giving his team a brief numerical advantage in that part of the pitch. Spurs’ wingers responded by narrowing and dropping back, no longer putting pressure on Chelsea’s backline as often.

Although Spurs’ midfield trio maintained their pressing intensity, they needed support from one of their centre-backs – stepping into midfield – to combat Chelsea’s box. This was initially Cristian Romero (see below), until he went off injured in the 15th minute, to be replaced by Radu Dragusin. And as the game progressed, Chelsea began to find solutions to Spurs’ pressing.

Chelsea’s improved movement in midfield

Palmer’s movements to wide right helped to pull his marker away, freeing central spaces for Chelsea’s pivots to receive and play forward.

Similar movements from Fernandez towards the left had the same effect, as Spurs no longer pushed a centre-back into midfield to mark player-for-player. The home team’s wingers now had to work back, meaning they were no longer able to press as high as often.

Caicedo and Lavia began to connect more, not least in the move that fed the ball into Sancho, shown below, which culminated in his superb bending strike halving the deficit.

In response, Spurs attempted to place earlier pressure on Chelsea’s double-pivots; their No 8s jumping early onto Caicedo and Lavia. But Palmer and Fernandez were making much wider movements, which created passing lanes that Spurs’ single-pivot Yves Bissouma simply could not cover. Nicolas Jackson then stretched beyond, stopping a Spurs centre-back from jumping into midfield.

Intelligent forward passes from Lavia, in particular, prompted Spurs’ midfield to continue jumping aggressively, but they had little time to react and readjust underneath the ball. As a result, Chelsea began to dominate possession and create well-worked attacks.

A few poor passes from Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez did give Spurs some opportunities for high regains as the first half played out. On the whole, though, the widening movements from Palmer and Fernandez in Chelsea’s 3-2-4-1 gave them a strong platform to attack and feed the direct runs of their frontline.

Maresca adjusts the left side

Malo Gusto replaced Lavia at half-time, slotting in at right-back, with Caicedo now a permanent double-pivot alongside Fernandez. Left-back Cucurella advanced high to support inside Sancho, with Palmer initially central as a No 10, working off Jackson.

But when Palmer shifted to the right, additional space was created for Cucurella and Sancho to work dangerous crosses and passes into the penalty area. Runs from one of Chelsea’s pivots gave the visitors an extra attacking edge, as Spurs pulled almost everybody back to defend.

In the 61st minute, Caicedo burst forward to support inside of Cucurella and Sancho, and was brought down for Chelsea's first penalty of the match.

At 2-2, Cucurella continued operating as Chelsea’s left No 10, with Palmer now permanently in the right-inside channel. Spurs were inconsistent in their marking and defending of the central spaces, particularly on Cucurella.

Whenever Dragusin moved out of the backline to cover Cucurella, Chelsea attacked 1v1 and played forward with purpose, having regular runners beyond and numbers well into Spurs’ half.

When Cucurella moved deeper, Kulusevski picked him up, which allowed Fernandez to link play forward. Chelsea became dominant, and it was Fernandez who ran forward through the inside-left channel to half-volley past Fraser Forster and put his team in front.

From there, Maresca’s team tightened the screw, with a two-goal cushion coming courtesy of their second penalty. After the match, the Italian head coach downplayed his side’s title chances, but for now results suggest they are one of the teams with a genuine chance of finishing top in May.

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou insists he can turn his team's fortunes around despite Sunday's 4-3 London derby defeat to Chelsea making it only one win from their last seven matches in all competitions.

The north London side have only beaten Manchester City over that period, drawing with Roma and Fulham and losing to Galatasaray, Ipswich Town, AFC Bournemouth and Chelsea.

Postecoglou's side now sit 11th in the table, seven points behind Manchester City in fourth place.

"I still sense within this squad there's a real conviction in what we're doing," said Postecolgou. "If we maintain that then we'll turn our season around.

"Hopefully at some point we hit some smoother waters, just in terms of some of the things that are happening at the moment.

"Some of it is self-inflicted, but hopefully we can get some more consistency."

Former Spurs manager Tim Sherwood believes it's that inconsistency in performances that is Postecoglou's biggest issue to deal with.

"A lot of people want to be entertained, and Ange delivers that," Sherwood said. "Unfortunately, the highs are so high and the lows are too low. If they'd have won today they'd have gone four points off the top four. It's not the end of the world, but it's a tough moment."

Meanwhile, Spurs captain Son Heung-min says everyone has to stick together during this testing period.

"It's very disappointing," Son revealed. "I don't know what to say. I take the blame. On such a big stage you need to score in these moments [his chance] and I feel like I let the team down.

"We've got to stick together in difficult moments. We have a very young squad, they need the support. This is the time for players to step up."

Postecoglou was able to name centre-backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven in the starting line-up after the pair recovered from their respective injuries, but Romero was forced off after only 15 minutes with a leg problem, with Van de Ven lasting 79 minutes before being replaced.

Up next for Spurs is a trip to bottom side Southampton on Sunday, before hosting leaders Liverpool on 22 December.

Spurs' next five PL fixtures

Cole Palmer's penalty double completed a remarkable 4-3 victory over Tottenham Hotspur as Chelsea moved within four points of Premier League leaders Liverpool.

Chelsea thumped nine-man Spurs 4-1 in the corresponding fixture last season but required an almighty fight back as Marc Cucurella's errors gifted the hosts an early 2-0 lead at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Dominic Solanke's well-taken opener and Dejan Kulusevski's pinpoint finish puts Spurs two goals up before Jadon Sancho reduced the arrears with a delightful finish.

Palmer levelled just past the hour mark with his first penalty, and after Enzo Fernandez had blasted the Blues ahead, Palmer won another spot-kick, which he coolly dinked beyond Fraser Forster.

Palmer now becomes the highest-scoring penalty taker in Premier League history with a 100 per cent conversation rate.

Son Heung-min’s stoppage-time strike teed up a nervy ending for Chelsea, but they held firm to move two points clear of Arsenal in second and make ground on Liverpool, while Spurs sit 11th after a second defeat in the space of three days.

How the match unfolded

Cucurella's untimely slip near the halfway line allowed Brennan Johnson to burst down the right, and Solanke stretched in front of Levi Colwill to fire Spurs into the fifth-minute lead from the winger’s low cross.

Pedro Porro nipped in when Cucurella again lost his footing just six minutes later, before Kulusevski cut inside and picked out the bottom-right corner with a pinpoint finish.

Sancho halved the deficit when darting inside and drilling home via the help of the right-hand post, and the Chelsea comeback began.

Yves Bissouma's challenge on Moises Caicedo saw Palmer level from 12 yards in the 61st minute, and Fernandez then hammered past the helpless Forster to put Chelsea ahead.

The Spurs goalkeeper was left on the floor when Palmer – fouled by Sarr for the second spot-kick – chipped his 84th-minute penalty down the middle, as Son's late goal from James Maddison's cutback pass proved a mere consolation.

A damaging defeat for Postecoglou

Some Spurs supporters made their frustrations clear after the 1-0 defeat to AFC Bournemouth on Thursday, leaving Ange Postecoglou needing a response in this London derby.

Spurs wasted no time in providing exactly that, twice pressing high to punish their sloppy visitors and surge into a two-goal lead thanks to Cucurella's blunders.

They should have added a third goal before the half-hour mark through either Destiny Udogie or Son, whose left-sided corner then saw Sarr flick a header against the crossbar.

Another Son delivery could have made it 3-1 too, but Solanke diverted straight at Robert Sanchez with a tame effort just minutes after Sarr's opportunity.

A plethora of issues remain in defence, however, as Cristian Romero – who limped off after just 15 minutes – and Micky van de Ven's returns did little to protect Spurs' struggling backline.

Forster was regularly exposed to a barrage of Chelsea attempts, impressing with a few fine stops, but his resistance was ultimately broken by Bissouma's needless lunge after Sancho sent Caicedo bursting into the box.

Spurs' defence was again all over the place when the in-form Fernandez fired Chelsea into the lead, before Sarr's inexplicable push from behind on Palmer capped a woeful collapse and left Postecoglou searching for answers ahead of their next league outing, which comes against struggling Southampton next Sunday.

Chelsea carnage turns into celebration

Enzo Maresca's possession-based philosophy has been clear throughout the early parts of his Chelsea tenure and has proved successful – but an error-laden first half showed the risks to the strategy.

Benoit Badiashile set the tone for an unconvincing start, and while Kulusevski could not punish the centre-back's misplaced pass, Johnson did exactly that after Cucurella, who subsequently changed boots, slipped in the build-up to both Spurs goals.

Cucurella somewhat made amends as his simple pass teed up a sumptuous finish by Sancho, who then laid it on a plate for Palmer – only for Chelsea's talisman to fluff a gilt-edged chance to equalise – while Caicedo was perhaps fortunate to escape punishment when he lunged in on Sarr, though the VAR confirmed the referee’s call of no serious four play.

Palmer almost atoned for that glaring miss but his rasping drive was pushed away by Forster, who denied Pedro Neto's follow-up attempt, before the Spurs goalkeeper produced an impressive stretching stop to deny Sancho in the second half.

But Chelsea eventually roared into the ascendancy thanks to the brilliance of ice-cold Palmer after the break, and Spurs’ defence could not cope once the Blues hit their stride.

Maresca, who will now want to see more steadfast defending from his team, continues to insist Chelsea are not in the title race, but this comeback leaves the Blues within touching distance of Liverpool ahead of hosting Brentford next Sunday.

Club reports

Spurs report | Chelsea report

What the managers said

Ange Postecoglou: "It's a sore one for sure, it's painful. We started the game really well and then we lose Cristian Romero and we had to reshuffle. We still had some big moments to get a third and finish it off. The second half was a ding-dong for long and then they scored. The two penalties weren't great, we need a bit of discipline in the box."

Enzo Maresca: "On the ball I think, even when we conceded the two goals, we were playing very good. The team was playing very good and then second half, up until he last five minutes we conceded nothing at all and created chances. We deserved to win the game."

Next Premier League fixtures

Key facts

This was the 11th time that Spurs lost a Premier League game after having been 2+ goals ahead – at least four more such defeats than any other side in the competition’s history. It was also the first time they did so at home in the league since a 5-3 loss at home to Manchester United in September 2001.

Chelsea came from two goals behind to win a Premier League game for the fifth time, and the first since April 2018 against Southampton (3-2). They were the first side to come from two goals behind to win a London derby in the competition since Arsenal against Spurs in February 2012 (5-2).

Cole Palmer reached 50 goal involvements (33 goals, 17 assists) in 48 Premier League games for Chelsea; only Erling Haaland for Man City (39), Andrew Cole for Newcastle (43), and Mohamed Salah for Liverpool (46) have ever reached that total in fewer appearances for a club in the competition.

Chelsea have won eight of their last 10 away matches in the Premier League (D1 L1), more than their previous 31 on the road in the league beforehand (W7 D9 L15). Indeed, the Blues now have more away points in the competition in 2024/25 than any other side, with 19.

In converting TWO penalties in Chelsea's 4-3 win at Tottenham Hotspur, Cole Palmer set a Premier League record for the most penalties taken without EVER missing.

Palmer has now scored all 12 of the spot-kicks he has taken in the competition, surpassing Yaya Toure, the legendary midfielder who scored all 11 penalties he took for Manchester City.

Most PL penalties taken without ever missing

Player Total Cole Palmer 12 Yaya Toure 11 Dimitar Berbatov 9 Raul Jimenez 8 Ruben Neves 8

Toure's record last came under threat in 2022/23, when Ivan Toney fell agonisingly short of breaking it.

Prior to facing Newcastle United in April 2023, Toney had a perfect record from the spot in the Premier League.

He had scored all 10 of his penalties, and he had the chance to equal Toure's record of 11, but his effort was saved by Nick Pope. Ironically, Toney went on to score a penalty later in the same match.

Could anyone break Palmer's record?

Three CURRENT Premier League players are not too far behind Palmer's record of 12/12.

Fulham striker Raul Jimenez has scored all eight penalties he's taken in the Premier League, while Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo and Nottingham Forest's Chris Wood have successfully converted all seven of theirs.

Best penalty-takers ever

Is Palmer the Premier League's best penalty-taker ever?

His current record suggests he could be. But there are plenty of players who might say otherwise.

Matthew Le Tissier scored 25 out of 26 attempts, while Danny Murphy netted 18 out of 19.

Other notable players with a high amount of penalty goals who have missed only ONCE from the spot include Erling Haaland, Bukayo Saka and Alexis Mac Allister.

Best penalty conversion rates*

Player Pens taken Pens scored Conversion rate Cole Palmer 12 12 100% Yaya Toure 11 11 100% Matt Le Tissier 26 25 96.2% Danny Murphy 19 18 94.7% Callum Wilson 17 16 94.1% James Beattie 17 16 94.1% Julian Dicks 16 15 93.8% Erling Haaland 16 15 93.8% Thierry Henry 25 23 92.0% Ivan Toney 12 11 91.7% Bukayo Saka 12 11 91.7% Leighton Baines 22 20 90.9% Danny Ings 11 10 90.9% Gary Speed 11 10 90.9% Frank Leboeuf 11 10 90.9% Peter Beardsley 20 18 90.0% Alexis Mac Allister 10 9 90.0%

*Minimum 10 pens taken

The player with the most penalty goals in Premier League history is possibly unsurprisingly Alan Shearer, the competition's all-time leading scorer, who netted 56 of his 67 attempts.

After Shearer come Frank Lampard (43), Harry Kane (33), Steven Gerrard (32) and Mohamed Salah (29).

Shearer is one of only three players to miss 10 or more penalties, along with Wayne Rooney, who also missed 11, and Teddy Sheringham, who missed 10.

Statistically the worst penalty-takers in Premier League are below. These are the players with the lowest success rates having taken at least 10 penalties.

Worst penalty conversion rates*

Player Pens taken Pens scored Conversion rate Juan Pablo Angel 10 5 50% Dwight Yorke 10 6 60% Steed Malbranque 10 6 60% Kevin Phillips 18 11 61% Aleksandar Mitrovic 13 8 62% Paul Pogba 11 7 64% Wilfried Zaha 11 7 64% Michael Owen 21 14 67% Christian Benteke 15 10 67% Wayne Rooney 34 23 68% Teddy Sheringham 31 21 68% Riyad Mahrez 19 13 68%

*Minimum 10 pens taken

With Chelsea sitting in second place ahead of Sunday's London derby at Tottenham Hotspur, football writer Ben Bloom looks at whether they can push for the Premier League title.

He is in charge of the Premier League’s most in-form side, surging up the table and moving ever closer to the summit, but Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca remains adamant about the club’s championship aspirations - or lack of them.

“I don’t think we are there and ready to compete with Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City,” he reiterated on Friday, ahead of Sunday’s trip across London to face Tottenham Hotspur.

Unbeaten in their last six Premier League games and winning their most recent three with an aggregate score of 10-2, Chelsea have climbed above Arsenal and Man City into second place.

The gap to league leaders Liverpool is down to seven points, and the likes of Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and others are flourishing on a weekly basis.

“We’ve got our Chelsea back,” was the chorus from the away fans at Southampton on Wednesday night as Maresca’s side thrashed the bottom club 5-1. But, still, the Italian refuses to accept that his team are in the title race.

“We are very happy for the fans,” he said. “They deserve to live this moment. They can dream, we are very happy. We work every day to make them happy and proud of the players. We have to do many more things good, not just score goals, avoid to concede.

“Defensively we are doing well but we are just focused on Sunday and then the next one. We are not thinking about April, May or June. It’s too early. Things can change quick in football.”

Is Maresca correct or are his protestations misguided? Are Chelsea actually genuine contenders for a first Premier League crown since 2017?

What the stats say

It is not so much that Maresca is surprised by Chelsea’s ability to perform in the manner of recent weeks; more that they are doing so at such an embryonic stage in his tenure.

“I was convinced we’d reach that moment but not so early,” he said. "We can do many things better in both situations – attacking and defending. We are ahead of my expectations.”

Chelsea have scored 57 times in 22 games across all competitions this season, already seven more goals than they managed in their entire 50-match campaign of 2022/23.

In fact, their current average of 2.6 goals per game is the highest in the club’s history.

Even aided by playing in Europe’s weakest continental competition – the UEFA Conference League – it has been quite some start to the Maresca era.

On Premier League statistics alone, there is little to suggest Chelsea sit any rungs below their title rivals.

While the numbers below show Chelsea cannot compete defensively with Arne Slot’s side, they are the Premier League’s leading attacking force, topping the goalscoring charts with 31 and also showing the way for shot conversion rate among the main four title contenders.

That is despite being the league’s unluckiest side, hitting the woodwork more times than any other team.

Top four clubs' key stats

Liverpool Chelsea Arsenal Man City Points 35 28 28 26 Goals 29 31 28 25 Shots 216 213 201 260 Shots on target 89 84 74 88 Shots con. rate % 13.4 14.6 13.9 9.6 Goals conceded 11 15 14 19 Clean sheets 7 3 5 3 Woodwork hit 9 11 2 8

Appetising run of fixtures

Things have undoubtedly been good, and there are signs that they could soon become even better given the relative ease of Chelsea’s fixtures into the new year.

Of their next eight opponents, Fulham sit highest in sixth after their win over Brighton & Hove Albion in midweek.

The trickiest match looks to be this Sunday against Spurs, but Chelsea will approach that fierce London derby with confidence from winning more matches at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - five of the seven they have played there - since the ground opened in 2019.

In an upcoming festive period that treats all four main title contenders kindly, it is Chelsea and Man City whose fixture lists look most welcoming in comparison to some more obvious potential banana skins for Liverpool and Arsenal.

Here are the top four's next eight fixtures, and the league position of each of the teams they face, plus the average position of their opponents.

Fixtures and league position of opponents

Liverpool Chelsea Arsenal Man City EVE (P-P) 15th TOT (A) 10th FUL (A) 6th CRY (A) 17th FUL (H) 6th BRE (H) 11th EVE (H) 15th MUN (H) 13th TOT (A) 10th EVE (A) 15th CRY (A) 17th AVL (A) 8th LEI (H) 16th FUL (H) 6th IPS (H) 18th EVE (H) 15th WHU (A) 14th IPS (A) 18th BRE (A) 11th LEI (A) 16th MUN (H) 13th CRY (A) 17th BHA (A) 5th WHU (H) 14th NFO (A) 7th BOU (H) 9th TOT (H) 10th BRE (A) 11th BRE (A) 11th WOL (H) 19th AVL (H) 8th IPS (A) 18th Ave. position: 11.5 Ave. position: 13.1 Ave. position: 11.3 Ave. position: 14.0

Building for the future

While he is at pains to point out that this might not be Chelsea’s season to reach the very top, Maresca has not hidden his bold future aspirations for a notably young squad.

“What I said to the owners and the sporting directors the first time I met them, because of the age, and because of how good the squad is, for me, Chelsea, in the next five to 10 years, will be one of the teams, or the team, that is going to dominate English football,” he said prior to his side’s thrashing of Southampton earlier this week.

“This is what I said to the club the first time I met them. 'No matter who will be the manager, for the next five or 10 years, because of the age, the squad, you can dominate English football,' and I still think exactly the same.”

Chelsea’s squad is the youngest in the Premier League by a considerable margin.

The average age of their starting players this campaign is 23 years and 234 days – more than two years younger than AFC Bournemouth and Spurs, who follow next in the list.

Indeed, while their average age will naturally increase as the season goes on, Chelsea could potentially challenge the youngest ever Premier League teams.

Youngest average starting XI over a season

Team Season Average age Final position Leeds 99/00 24y 162d 3 Aston Villa 12/13 24y 174d 15 Arsenal 08/09 24y 225d 4 Chelsea 23/24 24y 233d 6 Liverpool 99/00 24y 247d 4 Burnley 23/24 24y 248d 19

That age could hinder them. According to Opta Analyst, no team have ever won the Premier League title with an average starting XI age under 25, and only three were under 26: Chelsea in 2004/05, Blackburn Rovers in 1994/95 and Man Utd in 1995/96.

That final instance was the first of United’s six Premier League crowns in eight seasons after Sir Alex Ferguson had sold a number of experienced older players and replaced them with a younger cohort of “Fergie’s Fledglings”.

They came to dominate English football for the best part of a decade.

History suggests Chelsea’s youthful nature might prove Maresca correct, with a sustained title challenge over the course of this current campaign proving beyond them.

But it is Ferguson’s model at Man Utd that the Chelsea manager would dearly love to replicate in seasons to come.

Adrian Clarke looks at key tactical points and players who can make the difference in Matchweek 15.

Match analysis - Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea

Chelsea’s action-packed 4-1 win at Spurs last season will go down as a Premier League classic, and the Blues return to north London this Sunday in wonderful form.

So, what sort of contest can we expect?

Here are five tactical areas to keep your eye on when this fierce rivalry resumes…

Spurs have been without their first-choice centre-backs, which is far from ideal as they prepare to face an in-form Chelsea team who have scored 2.6 goals per match in all competitions. If they can maintain that ratio throughout the season, it would be the best in the club’s history.

Postecoglou’s tactical approach is always bold and proactive, so we can expect his back four to squeeze up towards the halfway line when pressing Chelsea.

That line will be targeted by Enzo Maresca’s players, who have the quality to capitalise from through-balls.

Nicolas Jackson, with six goals in his last nine matches, has the speed to trouble the Spurs back line when passes are slipped beyond the last defender.

Spurs know all about that, thanks to the Chelsea forward’s hat-trick in this fixture last season.

Jackson is always eager to make runs in between central defenders. Only Erling Haaland has received more through-balls in open play than Jackson this season.

Through-balls received in open play 2024/25

Player Through-balls received Erling Haaland 12 Nicolas Jackson 9 Ollie Watkins 9 Jamie Vardy 8 Dominic Calvert-Lewin 6 Kevin Schade 6

With fantastic passers such as Cole Palmer (10 through-balls), Enzo Fernandez (eight), Moises Caicedo and Jadon Sancho (both five) in the side, Jackson knows his movement will be rewarded.

Along with Aston Villa, whose striker Ollie Watkins plays similarly to Jackson, Chelsea have produced the joint highest number of through-balls.

Most through-balls 2024/25

Club Through-balls Chelsea 42 Aston Villa 42 Brighton 37 Man Utd 36 Man City 34

To prevent this tactic threatening them, Spurs must press outstandingly well to ensure Chelsea’s players do not have time to look up and make the perfect pass.

They will also need to look after possession with great care inside the middle third.

If the back four is caught high and square from a turnover, they may find themselves vulnerable.

When two aggressive pressing teams collide, it always creates excitement. Both sets of players have the industry and intelligence to pounce on any loose decision-making from their opponents.

Spurs striker Dominic Solanke will certainly do his best to force mistakes from the likes of Chelsea defenders Levi Colwill, Axel Disasi and Wesley Fofana. He is tireless in his running, applying more pressures than any other top-flight player.

Inside the final third, he is way above the rest of the field, but two Chelsea forwards - Jackson and Palmer - also feature prominently on the list.

Most pressures inside final third

Player Most pressures Dominic Solanke 310 Liam Delap 260 Omari Hutchinson 234 Erling Haaland 230 Nicolas Jackson 222 Cole Palmer 215

In terms of winning possession inside the final third, it is Postecoglou’s men who lead the way with 91 times, closely followed by Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth on 88.

Maresca does encourage his goalkeeper and defenders to pass out from the back, so they must not dwell on the ball for too long, or take unnecessary risks.

In the midweek action, it was Chelsea who looked very strong with their pressing game, while Spurs appeared fragile when playing out from the back at Bournemouth.

Spurs were fortunate not to concede when Fraser Forster’s straight pass to Dejan Kulusevski was intercepted by Tyler Adams, leading to a disallowed goal just moments later.

That is the exact scenario Chelsea scored from at Southampton the night before, when Noni Madueke robbed inverted full-back Kyle Walker-Peters from a Joe Lumley pass. If Spurs fail to learn lessons, Maresca’s side will pounce on the weakness.

Straight passes into midfield are a gamble against this hostile Chelsea team.

Record-signing Fernandez is starting to look at home in the heart of Chelsea’s midfield.

He performed a disciplined role in their 5-1 win at Southampton to the right of Moises Caicedo. This came after playing to the left of Romeo Lavia in their previous game, at home to Aston Villa.

Scoring two goals and assisting three others in his last four appearances, the Argentinian is having a direct impact on matches.

Why? He is venturing forward with a little more confidence than before. Below, is a good example of how Maresca’s shape helps Fernandez join in with attacks.

Caicedo has inverted from right-back into midfield, and with both wingers very wide, there is plenty of space for Fernandez to wander freely into, in a more advanced position alongside Jackson and Palmer.

From here he made a one-two with Palmer, before bursting into the box to score.

In all his last three starts, Fernandez has been defensively strong and has passed the ball well.

His defensive chalkboard from the win at Leicester City outlines how he can be proactive inside the opposition half.

Fernandez defensive actions v Leicester

The Argentinian's pass map at Southampton highlights how often he gets involved in the build-up, making a game-high 81 passes, which included 29 inside the final third.

Fernandez passing map v Southampton

Spurs' midfield unit would be advised to stay compact to avoid him playing through them, and they must also track his forays forward.

One of the minor flaws with Maresca’s tactical set-up can be the space left down the side of his central defenders.

With one full-back usually high and infield, from turnovers of possession there are sometimes areas for opponents to hit with longer passes into the channel.

This example from the Villa game shows how easy it was for Watkins to spin in behind, and they almost scored from the move.

The speed of Solanke, Brennan Johnson, Timo Werner, Son Heung-min and Kulusevski should come to the fore in these moments.

We saw how dangerous Spurs were from these scenarios in their 4-0 win at Man City. Postecoglou has no shortage of willing runners. In fact, two of the top three run-makers in the division play for Spurs.

Most runs made 2024/25

Player Runs made Dominic Calvert-Lewin 465 Dominic Solanke 411 Dejan Kulusevski 398

Kulusevski is especially dynamic when making that type of long forward run, and opponents find it hard to track the Swede’s powerful bursts.

The key to success will be synching the timing of the pass and the run. If they can get it right, the home side will have success.

This fixture has the potential to be a fantastic watch, as both head coaches will bring a positive style of play to this derby.

Ball carrying is a strength for both teams. Kulusevski has created the second-highest number of chances from ball carries (12), with Chelsea’s Pedro Neto (11) and Palmer (10) just behind him.

Noni Madueke is also very explosive with the ball at his feet, attempting 17 shots from ball carries. Only Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo has had more.

Goals and shots from fast breaks 2024/25

Shots Goals Chelsea 22 Spurs 9 Liverpool 22 Wolves 6 Spurs 19 Chelsea/Liverpool 5

Fast breaks are also a speciality for these two teams.

Spurs' quick forwards have revelled in counter-attacks, scoring nine times from them already, while Chelsea have manufactured the joint-most shots from fast breaks.

When each of them are on the front foot, they could be at their most vulnerable.

When you add up all the various tactical ingredients – and there are plenty more we have not mentioned here – we look set up for another intoxicating encounter.