Guglielmo Vicario was the only Tottenham player to keep his head up during the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea on Saturday, but he left Jamie Carragher in shock with a late decision.
Joao Pedro struck in the 34th minute to help Chelsea inflict further pain on toothless Tottenham with a dominant 1-0 victory to move up to fourth place in the Premier League.
Spurs’ horrendous record in this London derby continued after a meek display under new boss Thomas Frank with just one shot on target all match.
Pedro punished a weak home defense to break the deadlock 11 minutes before half-time, but he could have walked away with a hat-trick after fine saves from Vicario to deny the Brazilian striker. The Italian was forced to make a series of saves, also denying efforts from Pedro Neto and substitute Jamie Gittens.
Chelsea’s win makes it fifth in a row against Tottenham and 10 wins in the last 12 meetings in all competitions, with Enzo Maresca’s young side able to bounce back from a disappointing home defeat to Sunderland last weekend.
Loud boos were greeted at full time as Spurs suffered another home defeat – their third under Frank in seven matches – as fans made their feelings known after another performance that lacked attacking intent in N17. And the biggest uproar came in stoppage time, in a moment which baffled Carragher during his commentary for Sky Sports.
At the latest in extra minutes, the Lilywhites were awarded a free kick 50 yards from goal, with the defenders forward and the chance to launch a last-ditch effort into the box. Vicario instead opted to play it short to Djed Spence, who in turn had no choice but to play it back to his goalkeeper when he was pressed by a Chelsea striker, leaving Spence furious and Carragher in shock.
“That sums up Tottenham well,” » panted the Liverpool legend while commenting. “You were absolutely horrible tonight at Tottenham. I mean what? Listen to the boos in this stadium and rightly so! How bad is it?”
Where does Vicario rank among Tottenham’s highest earners?
Chelsea really should have added a second soon after, as Gittens burst into flames with the goal at his mercy after a fine pass from Pedro.
Spurs have an immediate chance to win back the home fans when they host Copenhagen on Tuesday before Manchester United travel to north London next Saturday, while Chelsea travel to Qarabağ in Europe ahead of a home clash against Wolves.
