Enzo Maresca’s Blues shaded the London derby against Spurs at Stamford Bridge to go 4th in the Premier League table. Enzo Fernandez’s headed goal in the second half was enough to see off Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs side & decide the fixture as the Blues kept their Champions League qualification hopes alive.
Tactical analysis and match report by Gaurav Krishnan.
Cast your mind back to the ‘Battle of the Bridge’ & it was Eden Hazard, nonchalantly strolling in his garden of Eden to score a curler to deny Spurs their title shot. Fast forward to 2025 and a lot has changed. Ownership changes behind the scenes have left the Blues in a flux. With widespread disregard for the new ownership bubbling over under the surface in certain instances this season, especially when the results on the pitch went awry, this new Chelsea side & it has to be said young Chelsea side, have had their fair share of ups and downs.
The stage was set almost then, in a pivotal game at Stamford Bridge where Chelsea had to pick up the points to keep their Champions League qualification ambitions alive. After this season's surprise packages Nottingham Forest beat Manchester United 1-0 earlier in the week, it was imperative for the Blues to pick up the three points.
Perhaps the lengthy international break did Enzo Maresca’s squad some good, or perhaps not. There were several reports in the media which suggested that Maresca’s first team lost to the junior U21 team in a practice session. As always, this news came as a bitter pill to swallow . . .