Fernández and Chelsea sink Spurs as survival battle goes to the final day

Tottenham’s woes in this corner of London are well-established and well-documented. When they made this latest trip to Stamford Bridge, the statistics showed they had won just once since 1990 – a sequence of 40 matches in all competitions. They needed only a draw to effectively ensure their Premier League survival, to send West Ham down and draw a veil over this most wretched of seasons.

It was a night when the hope pulsed until the last. Chelsea led through goals from Enzo Fernández and Andrey Santos but Spurs rallied, Richarlison scoring on 74 minutes to set up the grandstand finale. Spurs threw everything at Chelsea, who needed a win to advance their claim on a Europa League berth. There were chances and there was drama; controversy, too. Micky van de Ven wanted a penalty when he was fouled inside the Chelsea area on a corner only the offence took place before the ball was in play. It was too little, too late from Spurs and their fate will now be decided on the final day on Sunday when they welcome Everton to their stadium, where they have the joint-worst home record in the division. They may still need a point to stay in it. Spurs could not have imagined the bleakness to come for them at this venue when they won here in the old first division 36 years ago, Gary Lineker scoring the decisive goal for 2-1 in the 88th minute. De Zerbi did not run from the record; he addressed it with his players on Monday. It was not about history, he had said; rather showing up with spirit and energy. De Zerbi worked with a clutch of Chelsea players during his time at Brighton, although two of them – Levi Colwill and João Pedro – were not in the squad on this occasion. The other two were in from the off – Robert Sánchez and Moisés Caicedo – as Calum McFarlane reverted to a 4-2-3-1 system.

Key points

• It was a night when the hope pulsed until the last.
• Chelsea led through goals from Enzo Fernández and Andrey Santos but Spurs rallied, Richarlison scoring on 74 minutes to set up the grandstand finale.
• Spurs threw everything at Chelsea, who needed a win to advance their claim on a Europa League berth.
• There were chances and there was drama; controversy, too.
• Micky van de Ven wanted a penalty when he was fouled inside the Chelsea area on a corner only the offence took place before the ball was in play.