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Joao Pedro finally brought a halt to his Chelsea goal drought as the Brazilian striker sealed a 1-0 win to extend Tottenham’s dismal record on their home turf.

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Enzo Maresca’s side took the lead when Joao Pedro netted late in the first half of the London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

It was his first goal in nine games in all competitions dating back to his last strike against Fulham on August 30.

The 24-year-old has netted only three times for the Blues since signing from Brighton in a £60 million ($78 million) move in the close-season.

Chelsea’s third win in their last four Premier League games lifted them into fourth place, behind third-placed Tottenham on goal difference.

Tottenham haven’t won at home in the league since beating Burnley on the opening weekend of the season in August.

Their wretched home league form in 2025 started under Frank’s predecessor Ange Postecoglou and the former Brentford boss is yet to find a cure.

Although they lost in the League Cup fourth round at Newcastle in midweek, Tottenham have fared much better on the road this season, with an emphatic 3-0 win at Everton in their previous top-flight game.

But Tottenham fans are beginning to show signs of discontent at Frank’s prosaic tactics, which stand in stark contrast to the club’s ‘to dare is to do’ ethos.

“This will be a big result for Chelsea, but lot for Frank to ponder,” Jamie Carragher said post-game on Sky Sports.

“They have a big problem in this stadium.”

Adding to Frank’s problems, Van de Ven and Spence headed towards the tunnel after the final whistle and, despite Frank seemingly telling them to thank the Tottenham fans, they walked past the Dane, who stared in their direction before he turned to applaud the crowd.

“I think that is one of the small issues. We have Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence who are doing everything they can. Theyperform very well so far this season and everyone is frustrated. We do things in a different way, so I don’t think it is a big problem,” Frank said.

“All the players are of course frustrated. They would like to do well, they would like to win, they would like to perform well, so I understand that.

“I think it is about, which is difficult, to be consistent in good times and in bad times. That is why I went around to the fans as I did. It is more fun when we win, I can tell you that.”

Frank was hit by an early injury blow when Lucas Bergvall suffered a head injury and was replaced by concussion substitute Xavi Simons.

Bergvall appeared to plead with Tottenham’s medical staff to let him stay on and when they refused, he angrily pushed one of the medics before Frank intervened to diffuse the situation.

Alejandro Garnacho carried Chelsea’s main threat in the first half as the Argentine forward tested Tottenham keeper Guglielmo Vicario from distance.

Vicario went down with an knee injury midway through the half, but he was able to continue after treatment and immediately came to Tottenham’s rescue.

Pedro Porro’s clearance rebounded off Garnacho to Joao Pedro inside the area and Vicario stood tall to repel his low strike.

But Joao Pedro wasn’t to be denied and he made amends for that miss with Chelsea’s opener in the 34th minute.

Moises Caicedo tenaciously harried Simons and van de Ven on the edge of the Tottenham area, winning possession and poking the ball towards Joao Pedro, who lashed into the roof of the net from six yards.

Frank was furious with Tottenham’s sloppy defending, kicking a water bottle in disgust on the touchline.

Having ended his barren run, Joao Pedro nearly struck again when he took Malo Gusto’s pass and unleashed a powerful effort that Vicario tipped over.

Rodrigo Bentancur could consider himself fortunate to escape with a booking after the Tottenham midfielder’s ugly challenge on Reece James was deemed “not serious foul play”.

Tottenham finally forced Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez into action on the stroke of half-time with a Mohammed Kudus blast, but the Spaniard was equal to it.

Enzo Fernandez, unmarked 10 yards from goal, headed wastefully over from James’ cross soon after the interval.

Frank’s side were guilty of conceding possession far too easily, with their lack of attacking impetus leaving their supporters increasingly frustrated.

The fans’ angst mounted as Vicario had to tip over from Pedro Neto’s fierce strike and Tottenham never seriously threatened a late escape.

TABLE-TOPPING ARSENAL ‘EXCEPTIONAL’ IN WIN

Elsewhere, Arsenal brushed Burnley aside 2-0 to surge seven points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have won five league games in a row to position themselves as firm favourites to end their painful two-decade wait to be crowned English champions.

Viktor Gyokeres headed the Gunners ahead following a Declan Rice corner in the first half at Turf Moor for his first league goal since mid-September -- yet more joy for the set-piece specialists.

England midfielder Rice himself headed home to double the visitors’ lead in the 35th minute and put them in total control.

“The first half was exceptional -- we scored two goals and gave nothing away,” Arteta told the BBC.

“That was the platform. We had to make a few changes and didn’t have that much control in the second half. Defending was exceptional again, we didn’t give anything.”

Arsenal, who have now won nine games in a row in all competitions, have enviable options in attack but their team is built on a rock-solid defence that has conceded just three league goals in 10 games this season.

MANCHESTER UNITED SALVAGE DRAW

Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United, seeking their fourth straight league win, were on track to climb to second in the table when leading 1-0 at the City Ground courtesy of Casemiro’s first-half opener.

But Forest, who had not scored a league goal since September 20, roared back after the break as their confidence flooded back.

Morgan Gibbs-White headed the home side level in the 48th minute before Nicolo Savona tapped in just two minutes later to complete a dramatic turnaround.

But Amad Diallo levelled with a sweet volley in the 81st minute to rescue a point for United, who have been much improved in recent weeks after a poor start to the season.

Amorim, marking a year since his appointment as United manager, was disappointed to drop points but encouraged by his team’s mentality.

“I feel in the recent past if we had had this situation (from 1-0 up to 2-1 down) we would have struggled so much more than today,” he said.

“My feeling is we played well but we dropped a little bit of energy. When we have the full energy we are the better team. My players are giving everything but we have the potential to do better.”

Forest, who last month appointed Sean Dyche as manager to replace the sacked Ange Postecoglou, remain in the relegation zone, four points behind 17th-placed Burnley.

IN OTHER GAMES AROUND THE PREMIER LEAGUE

Rock-bottom Wolves, reduced to 10 men in the first half following the dismissal of Emmanuel Agbadou, are an alarming eight points from safety after a miserable 3-0 defeat at Fulham, with manager Vitor Pereira under mounting pressure.

Crystal Palace returned to winning ways courtesy of a header from Jean-Philippe Mateta and an own goal from Brentford’s Nathan Collins, which made it 2-0.

The evergreen Danny Welbeck netted his sixth Premier League goal of the season and there were also two for Diego Gomez as Brighton pummelled Leeds 3-0.

Bournemouth, second in the Premier League, travel to face Manchester City on Monday.

Liverpool suffered a second defeat in as many games, and were hit with two significant injury blows in the process, while Tottenham salvaged a draw at a fortress former manager Ange Postecoglou breached in an eventful morning of UEFA Champions League action.

Chelsea picked up their first victory of the campaign with a 1-0 victory against Portuguese outfit Benfica in Jose Mourinho’s return to Stamford Bridge, but all eyes were on Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat to Turkish giants Galatasaray.

Goalkeeper Alisson and forward Hugo Ekitike both limped off the pitch with injuries in Istanbul as the Reds were unable to bounce back from their league loss to Crystal Palace on the weekend.

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Arne Slot’s side were set to have a golden chance to equalise in the dying minutes, with the referee pointing to the penalty spot after he deemed contact was made on Ibrahima Konate as he attempted a volley.

VAR stepped in to over turn the penalty however, with replays showing the Galatasaray defender got the ball first, meaning Victor Osimhen’s 16th minute penalty stood as the only goal for the match.

Meanwhile, Tottenham escaped with a point from their second trip to the Arctic Circle of the year courtesy of an 89th minute own goal.

Norwegian side Bodø/Glimt dominated most of the match on the artificial turf with Jens Petter Hauge scoring a brace in the space of 13 minutes to give the hosts a two-goal lead, before Tottenham hit back through Micky van de Ven and then Jostein Gundersen’s late blunder.

It was a very different match from the first leg of the Europa League semi-final in May, when Postecoglou’s side prevailed 2-0 in a composed display at Bodø/Glimt’s 8,000 seat stadium.

Chelsea picked up a confidence boosting win ahead of welcoming Liverpool to Stamford Bridge on the weekend, having lost three of their last four matches across all competitions.

The decisive goal came via an own goal from Benfica’s Richard Rios, and the Club World Cup winners were also hit with a late blow as Joao Pedro was sent off in the 96th minute.

Elsewhere, Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid thrashed Kairat 5-0 in Kazakhstan.

Antoine Griezmann scored his 200th goal for Atletico Madrid as they smacked Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1, while Bayern Munich won by the same score line against Pafos in Cyprus.

Inter Milan had a comfortable 3-0 win against Salvia Praha, Marseille hammered Ajax 4-0 and Atalanta prevailed 2-1 against Club Brugge.

LIVERPOOL’S SURPRISE DEFEAT

Liverpool slumped to a shock 1-0 Champions League defeat to Galatasaray on Tuesday as Victor Osimhen’s 16th-minute penalty handed the Turkish giants victory.

The English champions were punished for the latest in a series of poor performances in Istanbul as they suffered back-to-back defeats for only the second time under Arne Slot.

Liverpool were beaten for the first time this season at Crystal Palace on Saturday, but a series of late winners have masked an unconvincing start since a summer transformation of the squad that strolled to the Premier League title last season.

Slot responded by leaving Mohamed Salah and £125 million ($168 million) signing Alexander Isak on the bench among four changes.

The Dutchman was scathing in his assessment of Liverpool’s first-half performance at Palace as only Alisson Becker prevented an embarrassing half-time score.

However, Slot got little in the way of a response in another disjointed display from his array of star names.

Galatasaray had been thrashed 5-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt to start their Champions League campaign.

The Turkish champions are a far more formidable force on home soil, though, and made the most of Liverpool’s defensive deficiencies.

Slot’s decision to play midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai at right-back backfired. Baris Alper Yilmaz gave the visitors a warning of the threat down Galatasaray’s left when he failed to beat Alisson when one-on-one with the Brazilian.

Liverpool should have led just seconds before they fell behind. Hugo Ekitike was denied by Ugurcan Cakir as he tried to round the goalkeeper and Ismail Jakobs cleared Cody Gakpo’s follow-up effort off the line.

Galatasaray swiftly broke upfield and Yilmaz was awarded a soft penalty for a stray Szoboszlai arm into the Turkish international’s face.

Osimhen had previously seen a Champions League penalty saved by Alisson, but this time converted the resulting spot-kick.

Florian Wirtz has struggled badly to deliver on his £100 million price tag and is still waiting for his first Liverpool goal after his effort was turned behind by Cakir, while Ibrahima Konate headed just off target from a corner before half-time.

Konate’s poor form has been a major factor in the Reds’ defensive issues at the start of the season and the Frenchman nearly cost his side a second goal early in the second half.

Alisson saved his teammate’s blushes with another save from Osimhen but at a cost as the Liverpool number one suffered an injury sprinting off his line and had to be replaced by Giorgi Mamardashvili.

Slot introduced Salah and Isak on the hour mark, but Liverpool were still an impotent attacking force.

Isak fired tamely into the arms of Cakir with his first touch. The closest the visitors came to a response was when French referee Clement Turpin initially pointed to the spot by a foul on Konate, but overturned his decision after a VAR review.

Instead it was Galatasaray who were inches away from the second goal of the night in stoppage time when Lucas Torreira drilled a shot just wide.

MOURINHO’S CHELSEA RETURN

Benfica boss Jose Mourinho was beaten on his return to Chelsea as Richard Rios’s own goal condemned the former Blues boss to a 1-0 defeat in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Rios’s costly blunder in the first half at Stamford Bridge ruined Mourinho’s hopes of a win over the club he is most closely associated with.

Mourinho and then owner Roman Abramovich transformed Chelsea into a superpower after his appointment in 2004, winning three Premier League titles among seven major trophies across his two spells in charge.

The 62-year-old’s managerial star may be on the wane following a decade without a league title, but his west London home-coming was still a box office occasion.

Mourinho had started the season in charge of Fenerbahce, who sacked him in August before he returned to his former club Benfica this month.

While Stamford Bridge is the scene of Mourinho’s former glories, it has not been a happy hunting ground for him since.

He has failed to win any of his seven visits with Manchester United, Tottenham and now Benfica since leaving Chelsea for the second time in 2015.

Mourinho’s lone success in the away dugout came with Inter Milan in 2010, when he knocked Chelsea out of the Champions League on his way to lifting the trophy.

Having claimed he was “always a Blue” and still the “biggest” manager in the club’s history on Monday, Mourinho, who retains a house near Stamford Bridge, had insisted Chelsea’s fans would give him a warm welcome on his latest return.

The prediction proved spot-on as Mourinho’s name was loudly chanted several times throughout the match by Chelsea fans who rose in unison to applaud him.

The Mourinho love-in inspired a strong start from Benfica, with Vangelis Pavlidis forcing Robert Sanchez to save at the climax of a flowing move.

Sanchez made another important stop when Dodi Lukebakio’s drive was pushed onto the near post by the Chelsea keeper.

- Mourinho frustration -

Mourinho’s game-plan was exposing holes in Chelsea’s defence and Heorhiy Sudakov should have done better with a chance that Sanchez gratefully smothered.

But Chelsea rode their luck to take an 18th minute lead thanks to Rios’s blunder.

Pedro Neto found Alejandro Garnacho inside the Benfica area and the Argentine’s cross triggered a panicked clearance from Rios, who diverted the ball high into his own net from close-range.

Mourinho’s luck was out, but he was still willing to play peacemaker when Benfica fans threw missiles at Chelsea captain Enzo Fernandez, who had a brief spell at the Portuguese club, marching down the touchline and gesturing to the supporters to stop the barrage.

Mourinho got his wish but Chelsea weren’t so compliant and Tyrique George should have doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time when the young forward shot wide from a good position.

Benfica played with purpose after the interval but lacked the cutting edge required to carve out an equaliser.

Even a red card for Chelsea forward Joao Pedro for a high boot on Leandro Barreiro in the final seconds couldn’t spare Mourinho from a frustrating defeat.

While Mourinho was left to bemoan the first loss of his Benfica reign, it was a welcome success for Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca.

Chelsea had lost three of their previous four games against Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Brighton, raising questions about Maresca’s ability to take the club to the next level.

Maresca has led Chelsea to UEFA Conference League and Club World Cup glory since taking charge last year, but Mourinho waspishly diminished both those achievements this week.

The Blues’ fourth win in nine games in all competitions this season was a timely response from Maresca.

TOTTENHAM’S ARCTIC ESCAPE

Tottenham emerged from a chastening trip to the Arctic Circle with a 2-2 draw in the league phase of the Champions League thanks to a late own-goal by Bodo/Glimt’s Jostein Gundersen.

Local-born Jens Petter Hauge scored a brace for the impressive hosts before Micky van de Ven and the 89th-minute own-goal snatched a point for Thomas Frank’s Europa League winners.

The repeat of last year’s Europa League semi-final, which Spurs won 5-1 on aggregate, looked set to finish as a first win for Champions League debutants Bodo/Glimt until the late drama.

The result leaves Spurs on four points after an opening win against Villarreal, while Bodo/Glimt have back-to-back 2-2 draws following their late equaliser last time out at Slavia Prague.

Playing at home for the very first time in Europe’s top-club competition, Bodo/Glimt grew into the occasion and soon took a firm grip ahold the match.

The referee awarded a penalty to the dominant hosts shortly after the half-hour when Rodrigo Bentancur followed through and caught Fredrik Andre Bjorkan.

But Kasper Hogh’s woes from the spot in the league phase this year continued as his effort flew over the crossbar -- following on from his saved effort against Slavia Prague on matchday one.

Spurs remained penned in their own half through the rest of the first period, and Bodo/Glimt’s dominance finally paid off eight minutes after the break when Hauge curled in from inside the box.

The jubilant scenes at the Aspmyra Stadion were curtailed two minutes later when Pedro Porro’s free-kick drifted onto the post and Bentancur turned in the rebound.

However, the yellow-clad mass of Norwegian fans soon roared again as VAR spotted a foul by Van de Ven as Porro’s cross came in and the referee disallowed the goal.

Hauge doubled Bodo/Glimt’s lead in the 66th minute with a rifled left-footed finish that flew past Guglielmo Vicario after the 25-year-old had glided easily past Porro on the edge of the box.

Porro and Van de Ven made amends for their errors two minutes later when the Dutchman headed home the right-back’s pinpoint cross to give Spurs hope.

Tottenham manager Frank rang the substitutions in search of a leveller, and replacement Destiny Udogie found Wilson Odobert, but the Frenchman’s header glanced off the woodwork on 85 minutes.

The hosts responded to the pressure as Andreas Helmersen hit the crossbar down the other end.

But it was heartbreak in the end for Bodo/Glimt as Spurs forced an 89th-minute equaliser when Nikita Haikin’s save smashed into the stomach of Gundersen from close range and trickled over the line -- the leveller validated after a length check for offside.

MBAPPE HAT-TRICK

Kylian Mbappe struck a hat-trick as record 15-time Champions League winners Real Madrid romped to a 5-0 league phase win over Kairat in Kazakhstan on Tuesday.

Xabi Alonso’s side bounced back from their thrashing by city rivals Atletico Madrid on Saturday with an emphatic victory on the road, after travelling more than 7,000 kilometres.

Mbappe put the hosts to the sword with his treble and Eduardo Camavinga and Brahim Diaz wrapped up Madrid’s victory, which took them provisionally top of the table.

Kairat, appearing in the tournament proper for the first time, beat Celtic in qualifying but could not handle Los Blancos, even after their long journey east, in particular French superstar Mbappe.

“We can’t forget what happened this weekend (against Atletico) but we have to keep thinking about it, and working to be better each day and each week so we don’t have another night like that,” Mbappe told Movistar.

The forward boasts 13 goals already this season in nine games across all competitions, but looked frustrated with himself when he missed a good chance in the second half.

“My work is helping the team, doing what I can so that the team wins,” continued Mbappe.

“If I have five chances, and I want to score five goals then I have to score five goals, that’s why Real Madrid bought me.

“I’ll work to be better and try to score more goals and be more efficient in front of goal.” Hosts Kairat lined up with 18-year-old Sherkhan Kalmurza in goal because of injuries to three other goalkeepers at the club.

Kalmurza was to blame for Madrid’s opener, as he clumsily felled Franco Mastantuono.

Mbappe, who had a shot saved earlier by the youngster, sent Kalmurza the wrong way from the spot in the 25th minute.

The Frenchman was Madrid’s main threat, as has been the case all season, and whistled a shot narrowly wide of the far post before the break.

- ‘Enormous pass’ -

Seven minutes into the second period Mbappe grabbed his second, after a long kick by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois sent him through on goal.

Mbappe gently dinked the ball over Kalmurza to net his fourth in the competition after a brace against Marseille in Madrid’s opener.

“It was an enormous pass worth 80 per cent of the goal, and I added the other 20 per cent,” said Mbappe.

The striker should have had his hat-trick after exchanging passes with Vinicius Junior but fired wide with just the goalkeeper to beat.

At the other end, promising 17-year-old forward Dastan Satpayev, who will join Chelsea next summer, whipped a free-kick narrowly wide.

Kairat thought they had won a penalty when Dani Ceballos was penalised for tripping Valery Gromyko, but it was cancelled after a VAR review.

Mbappe then completed his treble after Arda Guler flicked the ball into his path on the edge of the box and he produced a razor-sharp finish.

Camavinga, on as a substitute, nodded home after 83 minutes and Diaz rounded off Madrid’s rout in stoppage time.

Ange Postecoglou has slammed Arsene Wenger’s “crazy” claim that Tottenham shouldn’t be allowed to qualify for the Champions League if they win the Europa League.

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Postecoglou’s troubled side can seal a place in the Europa League final when they face Bodo/Glimt in the semi-final second leg in Norway on Thursday.

Tottenham won the first leg 3-1 as they look to set up a final showdown with Athletic Bilbao or Manchester United, who go into their second leg with a 3-0 advantage.

Despite languishing in 16th place in the Premier League, Europa League glory would earn them qualification for the Champions League due to a UEFA rule in place since the 2014-15 campaign.

United are one place above Tottenham in the English top-flight after an equally bad domestic campaign.

And former Arsenal boss Wenger, currently head of global football development at FIFA, this week told beIN Sport that Tottenham and United should not be able to get into Europe’s elite competition via the Europa League, urging UEFA to “review” their rule.

The under-fire Postecoglou responded to Wenger’s controversial comments in acerbic fashion.

“Well, I mean that’s a debate that’s been raging for years, like at least the last eight days,” Postecoglou told reporters on Wednesday.

“I’ve never heard that before. I’ve said it before, mate, Spurs does crazy things to people. It does, it does.

“You put that club into any sentence or any issue and invariably they all come out and try and diminish as much as they can.”

Although Tottenham’s troubled season hardly warrants a place in the Champions League, Postecoglou said victory in the Europa League would make it a worthy achievement.

The Australian cannot understand why Wenger raised the topic now, insisting the rules should be respected.

“Why wasn’t there an issue before and it’s an issue now? What’s the difference? I don’t understand what the difference is,” he said.

“Last year, fifth didn’t get you into the Champions League, this year it does. What does that mean?

“There are competition rules and the rules say that the winner goes into Champions League and it’s not the first year.

“And there isn’t an asterisk against it that you have to do something else as well, but it’s Spurs, mate, they love it. They love it.

“I’ve got a great respect for Arsene. He’s one of the legends of the game, but it does crazy things to people, mate. I love it, bring it on. It’s going to upset people, so that makes me happy.”

Asked if Tottenham had made him crazy as well during a season where he has faced constant speculation over his future, Postecoglou said: “It hasn’t made me crazy at all.

“I was talking about other people, I wasn’t talking about me. I was asked the question about apparently there is a massive raging debate about the legitimacy of us or Man U potentially being in the Champions League next year.”

MADDISON GONE FOR SEASON

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou confirmed James Maddison will miss the rest of the season ahead of Thursday’s crucial Europa League semi-final showdown with Bodo/Glimt.

Maddison suffered a knee injury after scoring in last week’s 3-1 first-leg win against the Norwegian club.

After undergoing tests on the problem, the England international has discovered he will not feature again this term.

The 28-year-old’s absence is another setback in an injury-plagued campaign for the Premier League club.

Postecoglou is already without captain Son Heung-min due to a foot issue, although England striker Dominic Solanke has been declared fit for the second leg in Norway.

“Madders tweaked his knee in the first leg so he is out and will miss the rest of this season,” Postecoglou told reporters on Wednesday.

“Yeah, disappointing for him because he’s been a big part of this latter part of the season for us, particularly in Europe.

“He misses out but it has always been a constant of this season. Everyone else from the first leg travelled and is ready to go.

“Disappointing for Sonny as well. He has progressed and there’s a possibility of him getting some game time at the weekend but he hasn’t trained with the team yet.”

Tottenham are bidding to win their first European trophy since the 1984 UEFA Cup and their first silverware of any kind in 17 years.

Languishing in 16th place in the Premier League amid talk that Postecoglou faces the sack at the end of the season, Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario said his team have got used to dealing with injuries throughout their turbulent campaign.

“We have to always deal with it to be fair. We will not have Sonny and Madders tomorrow, but it is on us,” he said.

“The importance of the entire squad will be crucial.”