Chelsea 0-2 Tottenham: Mike Penders error and Mathys Tel earn Spurs rare victory at Stamford Bridge as Cole Palmer sent off
Report and free match highlights as Tottenham earn rare victory at Chelsea; Mike Penders punched ball into his own net before Cole Palmer was shown a second yellow card after escaping a straight red earlier; Mathys Tel secured statement win under Roberto De Zerbi with brilliant solo goal
Spurs had won only one of their previous 36 league visits to Chelsea, but delivered their best performance yet under Roberto De Zerbi, earning back-to-back wins within six days and easing concerns about a third season in the bottom half of the Premier League.
Xabi Alonso decided to play without a recognised striker in the absence of the injured Joao Pedro, handing a first start to 19-year-old winger Geovany Quenda and playing Morgan Rogers through the middle instead of leading the line with the experienced Danny Welbeck.
Tottenham had 70 per cent possession in the first half and should have led when Omar Marmoush wasted a big chance from close-range. Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky made saves from Cole Palmer, Jordan Henderson and Morgan Rogers, but it was clear Alonso needed to change his line-up at half-time.
Instead, he stuck with it, and Tottenham became more dominant, despite losing James Maddison to injury early in the second half, and eventually took the lead when Penders punched Mateus Fernandes' corner into his own net under pressure from Spurs centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke.
Chelsea's evening quickly worsened when Palmer received a second yellow card for standing on Conor Gallagher in a tackle
Palmer had "lost his head", according to Sky Sports' Gary Neville, after earlier escaping a red card for barging into Fernandes' head when the Spurs midfielder was kneeling on the ground after stopping the Chelsea forward with a handball.
Tottenham could not lose from there with 10 minutes left, but Tel made sure with a brilliant solo goal. He drove in from deep on the left, cut inside, and fired low into the bottom-left corner to cap a statement victory under De Zerbi.
The stats behind Chelsea's horror show vs Spurs
Spurs have beaten Chelsea in all competitions at Stamford Bridge while keeping a clean sheet for the first time since December 1986 (also 2-0).
Chelsea failed to score at home in a Premier League London derby for just the second time in their last 17 such games, after a 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace last season.
Chelsea have conceded eight set-piece goals in the Premier League this season, double any other side.
Mike Penders became just the second Chelsea goalkeeper to score an own goal in a Premier League match, after Petr Cech against Everton in December 2009.
Chelsea had just seven attempts against Spurs, their fewest in a Premier League game this season and their fewest at home in the competition since January against Brentford (6).
What the result means and next fixtures...
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