The recent London derby which saw Tottenham host Chelsea featured a pair of clubs entering the match in sharply contrasting situations. Tottenham had been struggling all season long and another loss would not only leave Spurs in the bottom half of the league; it would also push head coach Ange Postecoglou a step closer to his potential firing.
Chelsea, on the other hand, have overcome a slow start under Postecoglou’s opposite number Enzo Maresca and slowly but surely climbed up the league table into second place. A victory against their crosstown rivals would have seen the Blues cut the deficit to league leaders Liverpool to just four points and keep their admittedly slim league title hopes alive.
Chelsea emerged from the derby on top, squeaking out a 4-3 win after having come back from two goals behind. Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski scored Tottenham’s first two goals within a six-minute span, putting the North Londoners 2-0 ahead after just 11 minutes. However, shortly after that, Jadon Sancho pulled one back for Chelsea.
Just before half-time, Pape Matar Sarr’s header struck the crossbar; as such, Tottenham squandered an opportunity to restore their two-goal lead. Chelsea would soon make them rue that miss after the break when Cole Palmer scored a penalty after Yves Bissouma needlessly fouled Moisés Caicedo in the box. Enzo Fernández would later put Chelsea in front before Palmer sealed the win in spectacular style, scoring with a Panenka after having been brought down in the penalty area by Sarr. Son Heung-min did pull a goal back for Spurs in stoppage time, but it was too late by then.
Chelsea have seen quite the turnaround this season following the firing of Mauricio Pochettino and his subsequent replacement by Maresca during the off-season. At first, many did have their doubts because Maresca’s only notable achievement as a coach to that point had been taking Leicester City to promotion from the Championship—something which most had expected the Foxes to have achieved with or without Maresca. Additionally, Chelsea had seen a clear improvement in the second half of last season, making Pochettino’s firing a confusing one to many Chelsea fans and outside observers alike.
However, after a shaky start, Maresca has clearly proven that he has what it takes to go toe-to-toe with the best that the Premier League has to offer. Perhaps his most notable accomplishment thus far has been reviving the career of Jadon Sancho. Once touted as England’s next phenom as a youngster at Borussia Dortmund, Sancho’s career went on to stall upon his move to Manchester United. Now, though, Sancho looks like a player reborn under Maresca. He’s finally showing signs of living up to the potential he showed way back then; a full-time signing is likely while a return to England’s national team - maybe even as a regular - isn’t even out of the question anymore.
Ever since Maresca has taken over, Palmer has ascended to a new level. There’s a strong case to be made that the Manchester-born midfielder is now among the top 10 players on the planet. As great a player Palmer already was, Maresca has improved upon the setup that Pochettino had in place to better maximize Palmer’s strengths, giving him all the freedom he needs to almost single-handedly run the show if need be - such as against Spurs when Palmer turned in yet another dominant performance; he’s likely the favorite to win the Premier League Player of the Season award as of right now.
Finally, Maresca’s tactical setups have been on point throughout the season. Against Spurs, this was clearly shown via substitutions such as midfielder Romeo Lavia for full-back Malo Gusto as well as adjustments like moving Fernández to defensive midfielder as well as a “pocket strat” that countered Spurs perfectly - shifting Marc Cucurella to central midfield. These tweaks were the foundation of Chelsea’s second-half comeback and their like have been the hallmarks of Maresca’s success this season.
Though the season isn’t even half over yet, the difference between the Chelsea of this season and the Chelsea of the past two has been like night and day. The West Londoners are no longer the laughing stock of the capital - thanks to Maresca, they’ve re-established themselves as a true force and maybe, just maybe, the only club that could unseat Liverpool from the top of the Premier League.
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