Chelsea spoil Spurs' Wembley opener
ENGLAND. — One thing is for certain. When it is Chelsea’s turn to make Wembley their temporary home, the national stadium will hold no demons.
The English Premiership champions registered their first win of the season with a 2-1 win over London rivals Totenham Hotspur at Wembly yesterday.
This was their ninth win here in 11 visits, an incredible victory against the odds, forged by a starting XI with only two recognised attacking players. What a triumph it was for the organisational skills of Antonio Conte, too.
After last week’s home defeat by Burnley, there were fears this could be a day of reckoning for the champions. Instead, it was a win that demonstrates just what strength they possess.
Players that gave their all, a manager who never stopped demanding, cajoling, arranging, scheming. Nobody would say it was a deserved three points, given Tottenham’s dominance, but it was damned impressive nonetheless.
They led against the run of play, looked to have surrendered two points late to a Michy Batshuayi own goal – and then, with two minutes remaining, won it again. That man Alonso again, too. What an under-rated talent he is.
It looked as if they had let it slip, too. The last meaningful goal Batshuayi scored for Chelsea won them the league. His one yesterday will be long remembered, too. But for rather different reasons.
Chelsea were heading for home, having made out like bandits. They had been outplayed by Tottenham, but a stitched together team led by an Alonso free-kick, and were eight minutes from inflicting a psychologically harmful defeat on Tottenham, in their first Premier League game at Wembley.
Attempting to shore up three unlikely points, Antonio Conte introduced Batshuayi for the tiring Alvaro Morata.
His first touch kicked the ball out for a throw-in. His second headed it past Thibaut Courtois from a Christian Eriksen free-kick. David Luiz was first over to offer consolation, but Batshuayi looked haunted. No doubt he had been brought on to repel corners and dead balls. It was a desperate outcome.
At that point there looked to be only one team capable of winning. Tottenham had been throwing everything at their rivals since Alonso had given Chelsea an unexpected lead. Now level, they had a brief interval to finish the job.
Instead: opposite. Moussa Sissoko – another substitute not exactly doing the job the manager asked of him – lost the ball in midfield to Luiz. He fed Pedro on the left, who slipped it inside to Alonso, still with the legs to maraud into the Tottenham penalty area, and
not a hair out of place.
His shot was low and straight and Hugo Lloris should have captured it. Instead it squirmed under his body. On the bench, Conte jumped deliriously into the arms of an assistant. Scenes.
Immediately, home fans began marching for the exits. Two wins in 11. That is Tottenham’s record here. This was more drama than crisis, but even so it was an inauspicious start.
One of the biggest mysteries of the summer transfer window – and there have been a few – is the persistent rumour that Chelsea are looking for a left wing-back, to relegate Marcos Alonso. Danny Rose, of Tottenham, has been mentioned.
Here, he took the wind out of Tottenham’s sails midway through the firsthalf, silencing a home crowd of more than 70,000.
However, Promoted Huddersfield Town made it two wins out of two in the Premier League as a superb Aaron Mooy strike gave them a 1-0 home win over Newcastle United yesterday.
The hosts built on last week’s 3-0 win over Crystal Palace, which marked their return to the top flight after a 45-year absence, when Australian Mooy grabbed the winner in the 50th minute.
Newcastle, who also won promotion from the Championship last season, should have equalised in the 68th minute but Ayoze Perez wasted a chance from close range.
Rafa Benitez’s Newcastle remain without a point following their home loss to Tottenham Hotspur last week.
There was a buzz of anticipation around the John Smith’s Stadium as Huddersfield, three times champions in the 1920’s, prepared to welcome England’s elite once more.
German manager David Wagner, whose team won promotion through the playoffs, has energised the Yorkshire town, injecting optimism and excitement into a club that had been struggling in the second tier Championship when he took over in November, 2015.
Signs of ‘We are Premier League’ were proudly displayed outside the ground and former players, such as ex-England international Frank Worthington, savoured the occasion in the stands.— Dailymail / AFP.