Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders punched the ball into his own net before Mathys Tel struck a wonderful second to gift Tottenham a rare but deserved 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge in which Cole Palmer was sent off.
Spurs had won only one of their previous 36 league visits to Chelsea, but delivered their best performance yet under Roberto De Zerbi, earning back-to-back wins within six days and easing concerns about a third season in the bottom half of the Premier League.
Tottenham had 70 per cent possession in the first half and should have led when Omar Marmoush wasted a big chance from close-range. Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky made saves from Cole Palmer, Jordan Henderson and Morgan Rogers, but it was clear Alonso needed to change his line-up at half-time. Instead, he stuck with it, and Tottenham became more dominant, despite losing James Maddison to injury early in the second half, and eventually took the lead when Penders punched Mateus Fernandes' corner into his own net under pressure from Spurs centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke.
Chelsea's evening quickly worsened when Palmer received a second yellow card for standing on Conor Gallagher in a tackle. Palmer had "lost his head", according to Sky Sports' Gary Neville, after earlier escaping a red card for barging into Fernandes' head when the Spurs midfielder was kneeling on the ground after stopping the Chelsea forward with a handball. Tottenham could not lose from there with 10 minutes left, but Tel made sure with a brilliant solo goal. He drove in from deep on the left, cut inside, and fired low into the bottom-left corner to cap a statement victory under De Zerbi.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing