Chelsea beat Tottenham Hotspur for the third time this month; the Blues were victorious in their Premier League meeting on Sunday night after beating Spurs both home and away in the EFL Cup semifinals.
Controversy punctuated the first half of the Premier League encounter between London rivals Chelsea and Tottenham. VAR decided, early on, not to send Matt Doherty off for a studs-up challenge on Malang Sarr, while, right before the end of the half, the technology interfered again, denying Harry Kane the opening goal, deeming him to have pushed Thiago Silva out of the way before attempting his shot.
Chelsea scored the opening goal two minutes after the restart. Callum Hudson-Odoi picked the ball up on the left flank before running at – and beating – Japhet Tanganga. The Englishman turned inside and arrowed a pass into the feet of Hakim Ziyech, who used Cesar Azpilicueta’s run on the outside as a dummy, and curled a sensational shot past Hugo Lloris from outside the box.
Silva, then, put the Blues in the driving seat in the 55th minute, heading in a Mason Mount set-piece past the goalkeeper.
Tottenham had little to offer on the night but for a rare attempt. Their best chance fell to Kane, but his goalbound header, late in the game, was turned around the post by Kepa Arrizabalaga, and Chelsea held on to the all-important three points.
Earlier in the day, Liverpool faced Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, knowing that a win would take them within nine points of leader Manchester City – and with a game in hand. With the permutations set, Virgil Van Dijk headed Liverpool in front in the eighth minute, powering home a corner from Andrew Robertson.
The Scotsman turned provider again in the 32nd minute as his cross from the left-half space to the back post was brought down and then volleyed home by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Palace pulled a goal back in the 55th minute when Odsonne Edouard tapped into an empty net after the Eagles had manufactured a two-v-one situation against Alisson. The Liverpool custodian denied Michael Olise the equalizing goal later in the half as he tipped away his shot – while back peddling – to safety.
The Reds sealed the points through a controversial penalty in the 89th minute. Diogo Jota was adjudged to have been brought down by Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita, and Fabinho stepped up to score from the spot.
Jurgen Klopp passing beers to fans after the game 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/5v0C8WiEx3
— Dean (@DeanCoombes) January 23, 2022
