Tottenham v Chelsea LIVE: Result and final score as Cole Palmer’s cheeky Panenka caps comeback
Tottenham 3-4 Chelsea: Two Palmer goals complete superb turnaround in north London
Cole Palmer scored two penalties included a cheeky Panenka as Chelsea came from behind to beat Spurs 4-3 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Tottenham made the perfect start when Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski capitalised on slips by Marc Cucurella – who later changed his boots – to race into a two-goal lead.
But Jadon Sancho replied with a well-taken goal, and after half-time Chelsea equalised when Yves Bissouma’s lunge was given as a clear penalty, and Palmer slotted from the spot.
Palmer’s jinking run then helped create for Enzo Fernandez to put Chelsea ahead, and another Spurs mistake – when Pape Matar Sarr bundled into the back of Palmer – gave up another spot-kick, which the playmaker dinked deftly down the middle.
Son Heung-min hit back near the close but it was too little, too late as the Blues moved to second in the Premier League.
Maresca: “Today they can be happy"
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca is last to speak to Sky.
“For the fans and for us, I said in the week that we were working to make the fans happy, and today they can be happy,” he said.
“To come this stadium against this team and be 2-0 down, but continue then with the same plan on and off the ball and then second half we changed things tactically. I think overall we deserved to win.”
On making changes at half time, he says: “First of all we had a problem with Romeo Lavia. That meant Malo Gusto came on and we moved Moi [Caicedo] and changed the attacking midfielder. The changes were good.”
On Cole Palmer: “I know Cole from a long time ago and I always trust him in every aspect. He is a fantastic guy. He is learning how to play games when he is marked man-to-man, [Yves] Bissouma was with him all the game.
“He is learning, improving and scoring goals. That makes him happy and makes us happy.”
“The plan or the idea is to not let the players slow down. They can not drop because they know another player is waiting to come in.”
“Arsenal, City and Liverpool probably don’t slide - like Cucurella did. To be serious, we are not ready, we are far from these teams but we focus on day-by-day and trying to improve the team.”
Son: “It was very disappointing”
Spurs captain Son says that the result was “very disappointing”.
“I don’t know what to say at the moment. We did such a good game in the first half an hour. We conceded very sloppy goals. It feels like we lost because of these small details.
“On such a big stage, you need to step up and score in these moments. I feel like I let the team down and I feel very sorry for the team.
“We can’t concede goals like this. We can’t dive into this situation. I can stay here all day talking about the mistakes but I’d rather blame me with the chance and I’d rather take the blame.
“I had a bit of a different thinking when I was running to the ball. I’m also human and I miss. I feel the pain because it’s such an important moment of the game. The team tried.
“We got to stick together in such difficult moments, it’s very important and it’s why we need big support. The players are very young and they need support more than before and more than we had.
“The fans were always supporting amazingly but I think it’s time the players also need to step up. We need some big support and big cheering up.”
Postecoglou: “It’s a sore one"
On Sky, Spurs manager Postecoglou says “it’s a sore one for sure, it’s painful”.
“We started the game really well and then we lose Cristian Romero and we had to reshuffle. We still had some big moments to get a third and finish it off.
“The second half was a ding-dong for long and then they scored. The two penalties weren’t great, we need a bit of discipline in the box.
“It’s a key point when you lose a key player in the first 20 minutes, He couldn’t continue so it’s not ideal.
“We didn’t play well in midweek but we did today. They’re a top side, you have got to give credit to them. We got distracted in key moments. We need to realise we are tough to stop when we do play our football. The two penalties were poor. When you’re playing these top teams, the momentum shifts quickly.
On the Caicedo tackle, he says that he hasn’t “seen the replays. I thought a couple of decisions were poor. We have to accept it and move on.”
On injuries, he adds that Van de Ven “felt a bit tight. He was only meant to play 60 or 70 minutes. Hopefully it’s not too bad because you could see the difference.
“I’m hoping Romero isn’t too bad. We’re thin on numbers and if we’re thin in January, we’ll be looking to add to the squad because they need some help.”
Palmer reacts
Palmer adds that Chelsea “knew it was going to be tough so to win is good.”
On his Panenka, he says: “When I stepped back and looked at the clock I thought it’s a bit frantic, the game is all over the place and I thought the keeper was ready to dive so I just chipped it.
“I’m just trying to score and thankfully it went in.”
“We knew with Arsenal and City drawing that we needed to win and we did.”
Palmer and Colwill react
Chelsea defender Levi Colwill is speaking to Sky Sports, along with Cole Palmer. He says “it means everything to beat our rivals. It was a great win”.
“We knew it was going to be tough but we trust that when we play our football it will be fine.
“We have amazing players like Cole. When he scores big goals, he calms us down and hopefully it continues in the future.
“We were 2-0 down but none of the players were panicking, we knew we would create chances.”
On being in the title race, he adds: “We have still got a lot to improve on, when we’re ready to push for a title we won’t be 2-0 down in the first 10 minutes. That’s the level we need to be at and that’s what we need to keep working on.”
FULL-TIME! Tottenham 3-4 Chelsea
So, what a game for the neutral! Chelsea take three points yet again from Tottenham, with the pressuring piling onto Ange Postecoglou after his side give away a two-goal lead and end up losing 4-2!
The Blues move into second place in the table, on 31 points, four behind Liverpool (who have a game in hand now).
Spurs are in 11th, with 20 points from 15 games.
FULL-TIME! Tottenham 3-4 Chelsea
FULL-TIME! Tottenham 3-4 Chelsea
Anthony Taylor blows the final whistle, and Chelsea move into outright second place in the table! Four points in it at the top after an intriguing game in the capital.
Tottenham 3-4 Chelsea
98 min: Sanchez gets a yellow card for time-wasting. Must be a matter of seconds left...
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