Lampard hands out a lesson to his old teacher Jose
JOSE MOURINHO was already in the dressing room, ready to read the half-time riot act, when Frank Lampard was landing his fifth air-punch on the evening air.
Willian had converted a penalty, bizarrely and violently gifted by Paulo Gazzaniga, and Chelsea were in command.
And Lampard celebrated with a gusto which was probably unmatched in the most stellar of playing careers.
Ignore the talk of this not being about master and apprentice, mentor and student.
Make no mistake, this was a landmark win for Lampard the manager, perhaps the most significant triumph of his short career in the technical area.
He outwitted the man he regards as one of football’s brightest-ever coaches.
He out-motivated the character he considers to be one of the most inspirational in the game. He took a Big Six scalp by surprising Mourinho and lifting his team to an intensity level that Spurs simply could not cope with.
Individual performances helped Lampard, of course.
Mason Mount fizzed from start to finish, full of initiative, always driving forward, and totally unafraid to have a barney with the grown-ups.
As for Willian, who had prefaced his spotkick success (below, right) with the sweetest of opening goals, this was consistent wizardry. He probably did not have a better game during his lengthy association with Mourinho. His hit for the first, after exposing Serge Aurier, who was back to his slapdash worst, was as definite as his Chelsea future is uncertain.
There were other superb contributions – from the everimproving Tammy Abraham, from the relentless N’Golo Kante, from a diligent Mateo Kovacic. And Tottenham’s dearth of urgency and alarming sloppiness certainly helped Lampard. The defending against the short corner that set the scene for the Willian peach was amateurish.
And, although Spurs were probably better with 10 than the full complement, HeungMin Son’s dismissal just after the hour pretty much typified their self-destruction.
It was a harsh decision from the Video Assistant Referee and his helpers, a prostrate Son pushing his studs up the stomach of the upright Antonio Rudiger. Rudiger went down theatrically and VAR bought it. Plenty of judges thought it the correct decision, plenty did not.
But one thing VAR certainly got right was the penalty for Gazzaniga’s high, clumsy, dangerous challenge on Marcos Alonso as the Chelsea wing-back pursued a Willian pass into the box (below, left).
On the pitch, Anthony Taylor had awarded a free-kick to Spurs. This is what VAR is for.
But VAR was not a decisive factor in this Chelsea victory.
Lampard had set his team up with three at the back and with no places for either Jorginho or Christian Pulisic.
His tactics and system worked to perfection. Spurs were overrun in midfield and stifled going forward. Harry Kane spooned one over the bar, as did Son, but clear chances were at a premium.
Chelsea could have inflicted greater misery, but for Abraham straying marginally offside before converting a rebound, and but for a couple of bad decisions when having numerical advantage.
It was convincing enough, though, for Lampard to give Jose a handshake and hug, then go over and celebrate in front of the visiting hordes as though the Premier League itself had been won.