Spurs Suffer First Premier League Loss Of The Season As Chelsea Triumph In Chaotic Matchup

Monday night's fixture between London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium proved to be one of the most dramatic and pulsating games of the season as plenty of incidents occurred in what eventually resulted in a 4-1 win for Chelsea.

Nicolas Jackson was the star of the show as the striker struck three second-half goals against a nine-man Spurs side to register his first hat-trick for Chelsea.

Much of the pre-match buzz centred around Chelsea boss, Mauricio Pochettino, facing Spurs and returning to their home ground for the first time since being sacked by them in 2019. Pochettino's sacking came just five months after he led Spurs to the UEFA Champions League final.

Spurs, who were the last remaining unbeaten Premier League team going into Monday night's clash, began the game with a real intensity and purpose. Ange Postecoglou's side wasted no time in getting in front as Dejan Kulusevski opened the scoring after just six minutes, with his effort deflecting off Levi Colwill and into the back of the net.

Spurs' captain Son Heung-min thought he had doubled the home side's lead just minutes later, but his strike was ruled out as he was offside. The first half then exploded with chaos as Spurs' left-back Destiny Udogie was lucky to remain on the pitch after a two-footed challenge on Raheem Sterling, with VAR deeming it to be just a yellow card offence.

Sterling looked to have equalised for Chelsea 22 minutes into the game, however, his goal was ruled out as the forward handled the ball in the lead-up to his goal.

Another one of Spurs' defenders then committed a challenge deemed worthy of a sending-off as Cristian Romero lashed out by kicking Colwill in an incident off the ball, but VAR again deemed it not a red card offence and Romero received no punishment.

Chelsea thought they had found an equaliser again when Moises Caicedo struck with a brilliant low effort from outside the penalty box. However, Jackson was in an offside position and judged to be interfering with play as he was blocking the sight of Spurs' keeper, Guglielmo Vicario.

After the goal was disallowed, VAR went back on the play and found Romero to have fouled Enzo Fernandez in the penalty box with a reckless challenge. The Argentinian centre-back was subsequently sent off and Chelsea was awarded a penalty.

Cole Palmer converted from the spot to bring Chelsea level in the contest with Vicario feeling disappointed having nearly saved Palmer's effort. Chelsea then had yet another goal ruled out as Jackson's close-range effort was judged to be offside.

The first half concluded with Chelsea captain Reece James escaping any punishment for his arm hitting Udogie and Spurs losing another one of their centre-backs as Micky van de Ven limped off with a hamstring issue.

To rub salt in the wound for Spurs, James Maddison also had to come off late in the first half as he suffered a knock to his ankle.

Ten minutes into the second half, Postecoglou's side were down to nine men as Udogie picked up a second booking for another mistimed challenge on Sterling. Despite a clear disadvantage in the game, Postecoglou instructed his side to maintain a high line and continue deploying his philosophy.

Chelsea went on to miss chances and failed to take advantage of having two extra players on the pitch. Eventually, Pochettino's side took the lead as 15 minutes from normal time, Sterling set up Jackson for a tap-in.

Eric Dier then had a goal for Spurs ruled out as the defender was marginally offside from a free-kick play.

As Spurs continued to push forward and seek an equaliser, Chelsea exploited the space in behind the home side's defence and Jackson scored twice in stoppage time to complete his hat-trick and seal a 4-1 victory for his side.

After the match, Postecoglou gave his thoughts on the action-packed game. He told Sky Sports: "It is almost impossible to analyse the game because it just seemed to get out of control for large parts of it. Disappointed by the result but really proud of the players, they gave everything and that is the positive we will take."

The Spurs boss added: "I thought we started really well, scored a great goal and inches away from another. The red card affected the game, I felt like I was standing around waiting for things to happen, with VAR intervention."

Pochettino gave his thoughts on Chelsea's win and the many VAR checks which occurred during the game. Speaking to BBC Sport, the Chelsea boss said: "This is football. We won and deserved it. The technology is there, and we need to accept. Many things happen on the pitch and you need to verify and check."

Spurs' failure to win on Monday means they miss the chance to reclaim the top spot in the Premier League table, with Manchester City now at the summit after beating AFC Bournemouth 6-1 this past weekend.

Chelsea's win in North London pushes them up from 14th to 10th in the Premier League table and marks a third successive league victory away from home, following wins at Fulham and Burnley last month.

Spurs are next in action this coming Saturday in the early kick-off away to Wolves whilst Chelsea will take on league leaders, Manchester City, at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.