Tottenham Holds Chelsea In Heated Encounter At Stamford Bridge

By Chidi Nwoke, Abuja.

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Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane scored a last minute equaliser to earn his side a 2-2 draw in a heated Premier League encounter against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, which saw both managers being shown red cards after the final whistle on Sunday.

Chelsea started with Raheem Sterling in attack, with Kai Havertz and Mason Mount in support. Tottenham featured Harry Kane up front, while Heung-Min Son and Dejan Kulusevski were on the flanks.

Havertz almost opened the scoring for Chelsea early in the game, however, Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris made a brilliant save to keep the scores level. The deadlock was however broken in the 19th minute when Marc Cucurella’s corner found Senegalese international Kalidou Koulibaly, who fired in a shot to give Chelsea the lead.

Senegalese international and Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly (26) celebrates goal for against Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge.

The new signings at Chelsea combined brilliantly to give Chelsea the lead.

The home side continued to dominate in the first half, but they couldn’t find a second goal as Koulibaly and Mason Mount missed chances. The referee blew the halftime whistle as the scores remained 1-0 to Chelsea at the interval.

As Chelsea continued to pile on the pressure in the second half, Spurs found a way to stay in the game and were rewarded as Pierre Hojbjerg fired in an equaliser.

Tottenham midfielder Pierre Hojbjerg celebrates goal against Chelsea.

The celebration of Tottenham’s coach Antonio Conte after the equaliser seemed to anger Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel, sparking a head-to-head clash between both coaches.

Chelsea responded nine (9) minutes later when Sterling found Reece James in the Tottenham box, who fired in a first-time shot into the net to send the hosts ahead.

Chelsea defender Reece James scores goal against Tottenham Hotspur.

Tuchel looked to have had the last laugh, with Chelsea seconds away from successive Premier League victories in the 2022/2023 Premier League campaign.

However, Kane’s dramatic last-minute equaliser lit the fuse for the final confrontation between the coaches.

Harry Kane scores last-minute goal against Chelsea

Chelsea were denied victory as Kane glanced a header home in the dying seconds. Tottenham defender Cristian Romero seemed to foul Cucurella in the box during the corner kick, but the referee let the goal stand as the match finished 2-2 at Stamford Bridge.

The equaliser sparked a confrontation between Tuchel and Conte, who refused to let go of each other after shaking hands while walking in opposite directions. Both coaches were dismissed by referee Anthony Taylor.

Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel (L) gets into an altercation with Tottenham coach Antonio Conte (R) during Premier League match.

“My opinion is it’s better to talk about the game. It was a difficult game for both teams and we try in every game to be competitive,” said Tottenham coach Antonio Conte when asked about the altercation between him and Tuchel.

“Chelsea showed they are a really good team. Compared to last season we did better, but if we want to create problems for Chelsea [in the table] we have to be better.”

Tottenham Hotspur will host Wolves in the Premier League on Saturday, while Chelsea travel to Leeds United on Sunday.

Sunday’s Premier League results

Nottingham Forest 1-0 West Ham

Chelsea 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur