Chelsea 2 – 0 Tottenham

Hakim Ziyech’s stunner and Thiago Silva’s towering header helped overpower Tottenham for this third time this month as Chelsea tightened their grip on a top-three finish with a 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge.

Having eased past their London rivals into the Carabao Cup final 3-0 on aggregate already in January, Chelsea ensured they kept Spurs at arm’s length in the race for Champions League football as Thomas Tuchel’s side ended a four-game winless run in the Premier League to open up an 11-point gap between themselves and Tottenham.

Spurs arrived in west London in buoyant mood after Wednesday’s dramatic, last-gasp victory at Leicester and, despite spending the majority of the first period on the back foot, were aggrieved not to head into the break in front after Harry Kane’s opener was controversially ruled out for a foul on Silva in the build-up.

Chelsea were profligate in the first period but found their shooting boots in the second, and in some style, as Ziyech’s incredible curled effort flew past a stationary Hugo Lloris into the top corner (47), before Silva doubled the hosts’ advantage and put the victory beyond doubt with a trademark glancing header (55).

More to follow…

What’s next?

Chelsea host Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday February 5 at 12.30pm. Tottenham host Brighton in the same competition on the same day at 8pm.