Chelsea 4-3 Tottenham (December 8, 2024) Match analysis

Cole Palmer scored twice from the penalty spot as Chelsea overturned a two-goal deficit after 11 minutes to beat Tottenham Hotspur 4-3 in a frenetic London derby and close the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool on Sunday.

Two comical slips from Chelsea full-back Marc Cucurella meant Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski gave the hosts a dream start, but their joy turned to despair as the visitors showed why they could be considered title contenders.

Jadon Sancho fired in a shot after 17 minutes to give Chelsea momentum and Palmer equalized from the penalty spot just after the hour mark, leaving Chelsea to dominate the second period.

Enzo Fernández fired a shot into the goal to give Chelsea the lead, and Palmer tied it with his second penalty at the end before Son Heung-Min scored a consolation goal in stoppage time.

Chelsea are in second place with 31 points from 15 games, four points behind Liverpool, whose game against Everton was postponed due to strong winds on Saturday.

Tottenham’s second defeat of the week left them in 11th place with 20 points and pressure mounted on head coach Ange Postecoglou.

Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca has downplayed the title chances of his lavishly assembled side, who are now unbeaten in seven games and have won their last four Premier League games.

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They are the division’s top scorers with 35 goals and have a player at the peak of his powers in Palmer.

Since moving from Manchester City, he now has 50 goal involvements (33 goals and 17 assists) in 48 Premier League games for the London club.

Things looked bleak for the visitors at the start, with a reeling Cucurella twice left red-faced.

In the fifth minute he lost his footing and Brennan Johnson played the ball forward to Solanke to score the opening goal.

Minutes later the exact same thing happened, this time the Spaniard slipped and watched in horror as the ball found its way to Kulusevski, who finished coldly.

Cucurella headed out to change his footwear and his team’s fortunes quickly changed. Sancho fired a wonderful shot off the post, although Pape Matar Sarr almost restored Tottenham’s two-goal lead with a header against the crossbar.

Tottenham maintained their lead in the second half, but a crazy challenge from Yves Bissouma on Moisés Caicedo led to a clear penalty and Palmer beat Fraser Forster.

The hosts briefly recovered, Son went close, but Fernández gave Chelsea the lead with a volley in the 73rd minute after a crazy dribble from the unstoppable Palmer.

Palmer capped a great afternoon when he was brought down by Sarr and converted an audacious ‘Panenka’ penalty.