Jose’s Dele decision backfires as Frank lords it over old boss
CHELSEA crushed timid Tottenham yesterday to tighten their grip on that crucial fourth place in the Premier League table.
Forget the scoreline. It doesn’t reflect a one-sided match that Frank Lampard’s side might have won by a country mile.
The scoreline will be a sideshow when this game is remembered in the days to come. It will be recalled for the sheer farce that surrounded the failure of the referee – and then VAR – to give Spurs midfielder Giovani Lo Celso a red card for a clear stamp on Cesar Azpilicueta.
The incident occurred early in the second half when Chelsea were already 2-0 ahead thanks to goals from Olivier Giroud and Marcos Alonso.
Lo Celso, who had already escaped any sanction for a boot into the thigh of Mason Mount, clearly stamped his foot down with force on the prone ankle of the Chelsea captain.
Match ref Michael Oliver missed it. VAR robot ref David Coote looked at horrific pictures and said no red card.
An official statement was put out, saying it “had not been a clear and obvious error because the VAR didn’t feel there was anywhere else for Lo Celso to put his foot.” Robot ref was the only one who thought that.
It was an insult to the intelligence of every football lover. Even before the end of the match there was a change of mind – and official acceptance it was a mistake to not send off the Argentine.
Chelsea boss Lampard surely echoed the widespread mood. He said: “It is not good enough. Today everybody saw that challenge. It is a red.
“I hate to call for red cards but that is a leg-breaker. I am not talking about referees on the spot – VAR is here to clear things up. And that is not good enough. We had it on the monitor at pitchside and were just waiting for the red card to be shown.”
What a contrast to Spurs boss Jose Mourinho, who said of the challenge: “I didn’t watch it. I didn’t watch on TV and in the game. I don’t know.”
Are those words good enough either from a man who knows a s much about the game? The match? That was encouraging for Chelsea, a disaster for Spurs. Lampard and Mourinho both made changes to their teams and opted for three at the back.
Any similarity was entirely superficial. Chelsea were keen to attack, create and play a risky pass.
Spurs were just plain cautious – and plain dull. Mourinho’s negativity was the reason. To hear him speak was to believe his team had no chance.
“It is a very difficult time with players injured and we knew we were not going to create lots of chances,” said the Spurs manager. “We had to stick to our gameplan because there was no other way. But if the opponent scores the first goal it will be so difficult for us.”
Mourinho always has an alibi for everything. But this sounded very lame.
The only surprise yesterday was that Chelsea did not score more goals. They were ahead in the 15th minute. Jorginho’s pass found Giroud, whose shot was saved. Ross Barkley drove the rebound against the woodwork and the ball bounced back for Giroud to score with the third attempt.
Alonso volleyed just over bar and then scored the second goal just after the break. It was a magic goal, created from nowhere at a throw-in. Giroud flicked on to Mount and then Barkley passed into the path of Alonso who shot powerfully low into net on the run.
More chances were spurned before a fluke late goal for Tottenham when Erik Lamela’s sideways pass on a break was deflected into his own goal by Toni Rudiger.
LAMP LIGHT: The Chelsea boss is all smiles
AFTER all his time at Chelsea maybe Jose Mourinho really does have a mole at their Cobham training camp.
Even though their love affair is long over, perhaps not all his old Chelsea pals have deserted him since those heady days of success together.
Mourinho got a heads-up on Chelsea’s tactical line-up – but knowing the formation didn’t do him or Spurs much good as Frank Lampard showed that he’s no longer the Apprentice to Jose’s Sorcerer.
But maybe the answer to Mourinho’s problems after this chastening defeat was much closer to home.
Like sitting on his own bench. In the shape of Dele Alli.
After the game Mourinho argued against playing Alli for tactical reasons.
But in the middle of a striker crisis that has robbed Tottenham of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min surely the smart thing to do would be to play your third best goalscorer?
Mourinho ignored the obvious, Spurs slipped to a second costly defeat in four days and their fans didn’t see the funny side.
These are critical days for Tottenham, with Mourinho admitting it’s going to be a long three months ahead.
Another Champions League Final looks way beyond them and after this defeat, a top-four finish looks much less likely given Kane and Son might not figure again this season.
So why on earth did the Tottenham boss stick Alli on the bench and leave him there for 78 minutes? Even if
Alli’s boot throwing strop after being hauled off against RB Leipzig in midweek annoyed Mourinho, now is not the time for the Spurs boss to be making decisions which backfire on his team.
When he did throw Alli into the fray – and a half-fit Erik Lamela just after the hour – it gave Spurs urgency, positivity and more hope of a goal at a time when Chelsea were looking vulnerable.
The hosts should really have been out of sight by the time Lamela’s 89th-minute shot was deflected in by Toni Rudiger to make it a nervy last few minutes for their fans.
But the late anxiety didn’t stop Lampard lording it over his former boss. After losing to Manchester United at the Bridge on Monday the Blues chief bemoaned his team weren’t taking their chances.
This time they did with Olivier Giroud providing the opening goal and showing why he’s a better bet than Michy Batshuayi.
His left-foot strike was powerfully drilled past Hugo Lloris.
Marcos Alonso made it 2-0 just after the restart with a superb low shot and Chelsea threatened to run riot.
Spurs should have been down to 10 men after 52 minutes with Giovani Lo Celso somehow escaping a red card after a horror tackle on Cesar Azpilicueta that was cleared by VAR.
Rudiger’s own goal gave Spurs flickering hope but it was too little too late. In contrast, for Lampard the day could hardly have been more of a success.
And the prospect of beating his mentor to a Champions League place come May will be the ultimate joy for the Chelsea boss.