Tottenham 0-1 Chelsea: Joao Pedro strike seals deserved win for Chelsea in heated London derby

Tottenham missed a big opportunity to move into second place behind Arsenal after a hugely underwhelming home performance, gifting Chelsea three deserved points. Chelsea's dominant record versus Spurs gets ever better thanks to Joao Pedro's clinical finish in the first half, but all the post-match praise on social media goes to the midfield engine Moises Caicedo, who had another sublime performance in the middle of the park for Chelsea, earning him the Player of the Match award.

Chelsea started on the front foot, but could not fully capitalise on Tottenham's antics defensively, with efforts from Joao Pedro and Garnacho being denied by arguably Tottenham's only shining light in

goalkeeper Vicario.

Joao Pedro found the back of the net in the 34th minute after a composed finish, but all the work was done by the resilient Caicedo, who pressed the sleepy Tottenham defence with full intensity, nicking

the ball from both Jed Spence and Micky Van De Ven, before squaring it to Joao Pedro, who confidently stuck it past Vicario, ending his 8 match long goal drought.

Mohammad Kudus aimed a curling shot into the far corner at the end of the first half, but Chelsea's number one Rob Sanchez parried it away from further danger. Kudus' attempt was the only shot on target Tottenham recorded all game.

Chelsea very much could have gone into the half time interval with a more handsome lead, but the lack of Tottenham chances throughout never threatened the slim one goal lead they held onto.

Both Thomas Frank and Enzo Maresca made a handful of second half substitutions, and the cheers and chants from the travelling Chelsea fans in the away end as Estevao stepped onto the pitch shows how much of a fan favourite the Brazilian has already become at his short time in Chelsea Blue so far.

Goalscorer Joao Pedro could have easily left North London with a hattrick and several assists, but Vicario stood strong in between the posts. Substitute winger Jamie Gittens blazed a golden opportunity over the bar, but Gittens’ confidence seems to be lifting game by game, unlike some of the other summer signings from the Bundesliga, especially Tottenham's Xavi Simons, who, despite being subbed on in the 6th minute after Lucas Bergvall was forced to come off due to concussion protocols, was removed with 20 minutes to go after an ineffective performance.

Of course Chelsea would have liked to end the game with several more goals under their belt, but ultimately did not need one as Spurs were booed off the pitch by their own fans at full-time. Tottenham's

horrible record at home continues, as they now sit 17th in the table regarding points at home since August 2024.

Chelsea's well earned three points now takes them level on points with Spurs, but Spurs boast a slightly higher goal difference. Both sides now look to Champions League fixtures next week, with Tottenham

hosting FC Copenhagen on Tuesday night, and Chelsea travelling to Azerbaijan on Wednesday to face Qarabag.

Chelsea FC Player Ratings:

R. Sanchez - 7.5/10

M. Gusto - 7/10

W. Fofana - 8/10

T. Chalobah - 7/10

M. Cucurella - 7/10

R. James - 8/10

M. Caicedo - 10/10 (Player of the Match)

E. Fernandez - 8.5/10

P. Neto - 5/10

A. Garnacho - 6/10

J. Pedro - 8/10