Gary Neville has admitted that Monday’s London derby was the first time he has ever seen a home team get a standing ovation after a heavy loss.
Hardly ever has a scoreline flattered a team more than the 4-1 win does Chelsea as the Blues were second best for large parts of the encounter at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The away side simply could not live with Spurs‘ intensity and enterprise in the first half an hour of the game and all indications were that they were going to be blown away.
However, Chelsea were handed a massive lifeline when Cristian Romero was sent off for a tackle inside the box on 33 minutes, with Mauricio Pochettino’s men equalising from the resultant penalty.
Tottenham were then left with a mountain to climb when Destiny Udogie got his marching orders on 55 minutes and most would have expected Ange Postecoglou’s men to shut shop after that.
Yet, they kept looking to create chances and operated with an ever-higher defensive line, and the tactics almost paid off with the home side coming close to an equaliser on a couple of occasions.
In the end, the Blues punished their opponents with a couple of late goals as Tottenham continued to throw bodies forward. But, despite the margin of defeat, the home fans applauded the team’s intent and effort after the final whistle.
Tottenham should be proud despite 4-1 defeat
Neville insisted that Spurs can come away from the game with their heads held high.
The pundit told Sky Sports: “It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a team get beat 4-1 and get a standing ovation. It’s a mad, mad night. Crazy from start to finish.”
“Ange Postecoglou will be proud of the players who stayed on the pitch. It was an exciting, explosive and mad game in the end.”
Spurs Web Opinion
There is no doubt that there are a lot of positives to take away from yesterday’s game and the performance could have a galvanising effect on the side, despite the heavy loss.
However, the major issue is the injuries and suspensions that we now have to deal with over the coming weeks, which is not going to be easy.
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