Key events
72 min Porro’s clipped free-kick is headed wide of the far post by the stretching Van de Ven. The Chelsea defence did well to ensure he couldn’t get a clear run at the ball.
71 min That chance seems to have woken Spurs up, both the players and the fans. Kulusevski is fouled just outside the area on the right by Badiashile. This is an opportunity…
68 min: What a chance for Son! Solanke screws a pass in behind towards Udogie, palpably offside. Everyone stops except Son, who zooms through to collect the ball, move through on goal and curl just wide of the far post.
Chelsea would have gone mad had that gone in, although I’m pretty sure the goal would have stood because Udogie didn’t touch the ball. For a finisher of Son’s class it was a very good chance.
66 min In the second half Chelsea have had 73 per cent possession and five shots to Spurs’ none.
63 min There’s no doubt Chelsea deserve that goal, having been much the better team since half-time. Spurs, who lost at Brighton from 2-0 up, will now be fearing the worst. In hindsight I’d have brought on Maddison rather than Werner to provide some composure in possession.
Forster dived to his left, Palmer curled the ball into the other corner at pace. Even if Forster had gone the right way he’d have struggled to save that.
What a game!
GOAL! Tottenham 2-2 Chelsea (Palmer 61 pen)
Cole Palmer does not miss penalties.
59 min: Penalty to Chelsea! Bissouma fouls Caicedo with a needless and very costly sliding challenge. He’s booked.
Sancho, who has been excellent, played a typically penetrative pass infield towards the onrushing Caicedo. Bissouma thought he could win the ball and slid across; he was wrong.
57 min It’s all Chelsea just now. A corner is taken short and worked infield to Gusto, whose crisp shot from 20 yards is pushed round the near post by the diving Forster. That was a more comfortable save.
53 min: Spurs substitution Another injury for Spurs. Brennan Johnson has pulled something and is replaced by former Chelsea forward Timo Werner. Johnson was able to walk off without obvious pain so Spurs will hope it’s not too serious.
52 min … for about 10 seconds. Chelsea win the ball back and Fernandez shapes a beautiful curler from 25 yards that goes this far wide of the far post. As the ball beat Forster’s dive I expected the net to ripple.
51 min Spurs break four on four, only for Kulusevski to flick his cross too close to Sanchez. About 2.4 seconds later, at the other end, Sancho’s excellent low cross rolls through the six-yard box and reaches Neto beyond the far post. He screws it back and Spurs clear…
50 min Chelsea have started the second half brilliantly, with Cucurella heavily involved. He’s almost plying as a No10 when Chelsea have the ball.
48 min: Outstanding save by Forster! Sancho zips infield from the left and gives the ball to the underlapping Cucurella. He reverses a superb return pass to Sancho, who pokes an early shot across goal from seven yards. Forster, with almost no reaction time, throws out his left hand to divert it behind for a corner. That’s a wonderful stop.
Replays show Sancho’s shot took a slight deflection, though that doesn’t change the quality of the save.
47 min Chelsea have also swapped their centre-backs, a response to Solanke giving Badiashile a bit of a chasing in the first half.
46 min Chelsea begin the second half. Malo Gusto has come on for Romeo Lavia, with Caicedo moving into midfield. Chelsea say it’s tactical, which is a surprise as Lavia was extremely good in the first half.
Apparently VAR said Kulusevski’s elbow on Lavia was “accidental”. The Sky Sports pundits, Paul Merson and Jamie Redknapp, aren’t convinced.
Here’s something to bring you down during the half-time break. No, not Wilson’s prose – I mean the stuff he’s writing about.
Half time: Tottenham 2-1 Chelsea
That was fantastic entertainment. I would summarise the first half but if I do I’ll miss the start of the second. And I need the [redacted].
45+2 min Lavia is down after a weird tackle from Kulusevski, who tried to win the ball on the floor but caught Lavia on the side of the head with a pointy elbow. This time a VAR check goes in Spurs favour – once again the verdict is that it ‘lacks excessive force’.
There’s a world – probably last season – in which both Caicedo and Kulusevski are sent off.
45+1 min A lovely turn from Solanke, who is quietly having a stormer, sparks a dangerous Spurs break. For once Kulusevski undoes the good work by drilling a cross too close to Sanchez.
45 min Two minutes of added time. Any chance of making it two hours?
44 min Yet another Chelsea corner. I’m not sure what’s being thrown at Palmer and Fernandez. Presumably nothing vicious but it’s still pretty tedious. File under Grown Men, Eh, or fugme for short.
42 min Every time Chelsea win a corner, the taker is bombarbed with rubbish from the crowd. “What are these stewards doing?” shrieks Jamie Carragher. “There’s three of them behind Cole Palmer watching them throwing stuff.”
41 min Chelsea are having some good possession now. Palmer turns into space and plays a sliderule pass through to Jackson, whose run between the centre-back is perfectly timed. Dragusin charges back to make a brilliant sliding block tackle and deflect Jackson’s shot behind for a corner.
Spurs have got to do something to address Palmer, who is having a field day between the lines.
38 min That Solanke chance came from a poor pass from Sanchez, though at least he redeemed himself.
Meanwhile, Jackson exchanges passes with Neto and screws a shot on the turn that deflects behind for a corner.
37 min At the other end Palmer’s low ball into the six-yard box is cleared desperately by the off-balance Van de Ven.
35 min: Two more chances for Spurs! Son’s corner is headed off the top of the bar by Sarr. Moments later, Son’s low cross is forced towards goal by the off-balance Solanke and saved by Sanchez.
Can Spurs play Chelsea every week? This is wonderful!
33 min: No red card “What?!” says Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports. “Have I missed something there?”
I don’t think Caicedo was even booked. Sarr was being challenged by Lavia and then poked the ball away from Caicedo, whose attempted tackle turned into a studs-to-the-shin challenge.
Apparently the VAR team decided there wasn’t excessive force and therefore the on-field decision stands. He’s pretty lucky, I think, though I’d like to see it in real time to be sure. We’ve only seen slow-motion replies.
33 min Caicedo crumps Sarr on the shin and could be in a bit of trouble. It was miles over the ball.
32 min: Brilliant double save from Forster! Palmer is found in space, 25 yards from goal, and that always spells trouble. He hammers a low drive across goal that is beaten away superbly by Forster, plunging to his left. The rebound comes to Neto, who makes just enough room to reverse a near-post shot that is kicked away by Forster. That was a really good save too as he had to change direction.
31 min Unless the referee Anthony Taylor thought Sarr was trolling Cucurella by putting him back on the deck, in which case it’s clear ungentlemanly conduct.
30 min Sarr is booked for tripping Cucurella. It was a foul but a yellow card is really harsh.
29 min Free-kick to Chelsea 25 yards from goal, too wide for a shot. Fernandez overhits his ball to the far post and that’s the end of that.
27 min My colleague Daniel Harris poijnts out that Gary Neville knows how Cucurella feels after his shocker against Vasco da Gama in 2000. Paul Scholes, who missed the trip through injury, sent Neville a pithy, sympathetic text after the game, which read: ‘Fiasco da Gama’.
24 min: Just wide! Solanke turns Badiashile superbly just past the halfway line and plays a return pass to Son in the inside-left channel. He scurries into the area, moves inside Colwill and whips a trademark curler towards the top corner on the far side. Sanchez is beaten and the ball flashes just wide.
