Tottenham slump to Chelsea loss
Tottenham slumped to a second loss to London rivals in the space of four days when they went down 2-0 to Chelsea yesterday.
Spurs, who suffered a 3-2 home defeat to Arsenal in the north London derby on Monday, succumbed to headed goals from Trevoh Chalobah in the 24th minute and Nicolas Jackson in the 72nd minute.
Chelsea could yet salvage a place in one of the minor European competitions from what has been an underwhelming Premier League campaign for a squad assembled at a cost of more than $1 billion.
Chelsea climbed above West Ham and into eighth place, two points behind Newcastle and three behind Manchester United in sixth. It’s likely that two of those three teams will be playing in either the Europa League or Europa Conference League next season.
Chalobah got on the end of a free kick by Conor Gallagher to loop a header over Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and into the net to give Chelsea the lead. It was another goal conceded from a set piece by Spurs and that is becoming a recurring issue under manager Ange Postecoglou.
Jackson got his goal when he was quickest to react after Cole Palmer’s free kick rebounded out off the crossbar. Jackson did well to head the ball over two Tottenham defenders who were retreating toward their own goal line.
Tottenham are six points clear of Man United and might have to settle for a fifth-place finish, which would earn a spot in next season’s Europa League.
■ Germany has beaten the English Premier League to a bonus fifth Champions League place in next season’s revamped and expanded competition.
Borussia Dortmund’s 1-0 win over Paris Saint-germain in their semifinal first leg on Thursday confirmed Germany would join Italy in being granted an extra berth.
It had largely been assumed England would secure a bonus spot, given its recent success in Europe.
The Champions League is expanding from 32 to 36 teams next season to allow for a new league phase that will replace the existing group stage.
Via a seeding system, teams will be drawn to play against eight opponents home and away in one league format. The top eight teams will advance to the round of 16. Teams that finish from ninth to 24th will face a twoleg playoff in order to advance.