Chelsea rebounds to beat Tottenham 2-1
LONDON: Marcos Alonso’s double reignited Chelsea’s title defense by securing a 2-1 victory over Tottenham on Sunday after goalkeeper Hugo Lloris blundered to enable the champion to recover from its opening weekend loss.
It was a gloomy start to Tottenham’s temporary residency at Wembley Stadium after going unbeaten throughout its final season at White Hart Lane before it was demolished to make way for a new venue.
Tottenham had been well placed to salvage a draw when Alonso’s first-half free kick was canceled out by Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi inadvertently heading the ball into his own net in the 82nd minute just after coming off the bench.
But within six minutes Chelsea was back in front and Batshuayi’s blushes were spared. Lloris threw the ball out to Victor Wanyama and Pedro Rodriguez disposed the Tottenham midfielder. The ball was then thread through for Alonso, whose shot squirmed under the normally reliable Lloris in the Tottenham goal.
Last season’s top two now have a win apiece after Tottenham opened the season with a victory over Newcastle last Sunday. Chelsea was left demoralized after it opened its title defense by losing at home to Burnley.
Earlier, Huddersfield made it two wins out of two at the start of its first Premier League season by beating Newcastle 1-0, condemning its fellow promoted team to a second successive loss.
Australia midfielder Aaron Mooy scored in the 50th minute, curling in a shot from 18 yards (meters) following a one-two with Elias Kachunga to secure the victory for David Wagner’s team.
“The boss has a saying to have no limits and we all stand behind that,” Mooy told British broadcaster Sky Sports. “It has been a great start so far, but we can’t get carried away, it’s early in the season. We just have to keep working hard and keep trying to improve.”
It was Huddersfield’s first top-flight game at home since 1972 — 20 years before the formation of the Premier League. Huddersfield opened the season by beating Crystal Palace 3-0 last weekend, while Newcastle lost 2-0 to Tottenham in the first round.