Chelsea beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 at Stamford Bridge to keep them in the hunt for European football - and deal a massive blow to their London rivals' hopes of qualifying for the Champions League next season.
Trevoh Chalobah opened the scoring when the defender rose to meet a Conor Gallagher free-kick with a powerful header mid-way through the first half.
There was a lengthy video assistant referee check for a possible block by Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella on Brennan Johnson in the build-up, but the goal was given.
Spurs did not create many chances and Cristian Romero had their best opportunity when he headed wide inside the six-yard-box in the first half.
But Chelsea took control in the 71st minute when Cole Palmer's free-kick from the edge of the area struck the bar and Nicolas Jackson headed the rebound into an empty net.
Victory sent Chelsea into eighth place, just two points behind Newcastle in seventh and a possible European spot.
Tottenham, meanwhile, are seven points behind Aston Villa with a game in hand in their battle for fourth place.
Their defeat means Liverpool have now clinched Champions League football in 2024-25.
Chelsea's strong home form continues
Chelsea had only lost one of their 17 previous home games in all competitions and that defeat was back in February against Wolves.
They put in another good performance here and Jackson - a constant menace to the Spurs defence - had a great chance early on when he was played through but saw his shot half-saved by Guglielmo Vicario before Micky van de Ven then cleared off the line.
Van de Ven's clearance went straight to Palmer but he could not steer the ball in from close range.
With 14 first-team players out injured and a substitute bench packed full of youngsters - the 21-year-old Cesare Casadei the oldest member - manager Mauricio Pochettino had to rely on his first XI to give him victory on his 400th game in English football.
Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke caused Tottenham plenty of problems on the counter attack but could not find the final ball to give Chelsea a third goal.
Stand-in captain Gallagher meanwhile, having set up the first goal, rewarded Chelsea supporters with a fine performance after they displayed a banner in his support before the game.
The England midfielder only has one year left on his contract and Chelsea are open to offers for him with Spurs one of the interested clubs.
Tottenham slip further behind in race for fourth
Ange Postecoglou made five changes from the side that lost the north London derby at the weekend but that did not seem to galvanise his Spurs side.
The Australian cut a frustrated figure in the first half as he tried to get his team going, with much of his frustration aimed at midfielder Yves Bissouma.
Tottenham have lost their past three Premier League games and are losing ground and hope of getting a Champions League place.
They are seven points behind Aston Villa, who would guarantee fourth place with two wins from their final three games, even if Spurs won all four of theirs.
Tottenham have also now kept just two clean sheets in their past 25 Premier League games and conceded from yet another set-piece in this match.
Player of the match
GallagherConor Gallagher
with an average of 6.95
- ChelseaChelseaChelsea
- TottenhamTottenham HotspurTottenham Hotspur
Chelsea
Avg
Squad number23Player nameGallagher
Average rating
6.95
Squad number3Player nameCucurella
Average rating
6.88
Squad number14Player nameChalobah
Average rating
6.88
Squad number25Player nameCaicedo
Average rating
6.80
Squad number15Player nameJackson
Average rating
6.70
Squad number63Player nameAcheampong
Average rating
6.68
Squad number11Player nameMadueke
Average rating
6.64
Squad number10Player nameMudryk
Average rating
6.44
Squad number42Player nameGilchrist
See AlsoPremier League: Tottenham unterliegt Chelsea im NachholspielNorwich City 2-2 Swansea City: David Wagner's Canaries remain in charge of play-off destiny despite drawAverage rating
6.41
Squad number31Player nameCasadei
Average rating
6.35
Squad number49Player nameTauriainen
Average rating
6.23
Squad number5Player nameBadiashile
Average rating
6.22
Squad number28Player namePetrovic
Average rating
6.10
Squad number20Player namePalmer
Average rating
4.60
Tottenham Hotspur
Avg
Squad number37Player namevan de Ven
Average rating
4.89
Squad number17Player nameRomero
Average rating
4.70
Squad number7Player nameSon Heung-min
Average rating
4.58
Squad number23Player namePorro
Average rating
4.39
Squad number22Player nameJohnson
Average rating
4.39
Squad number13Player nameVicario
Average rating
4.38
Squad number8Player nameBissouma
Average rating
4.32
Squad number21Player nameKulusevski
Average rating
4.08
Squad number9Player nameRicharlison
Average rating
4.07
Squad number29Player nameSarr
Average rating
4.06
Squad number12Player nameEmerson Royal
Average rating
4.01
Squad number10Player nameMaddison
Average rating
3.36
Squad number30Player nameBentancur
Average rating
3.30
Squad number5Player nameHøjbjerg
Average rating
3.20
Squad number18Player nameLo Celso
Average rating
3.08
Squad number11Player nameGil
Average rating
2.90
- Line-ups
- Match Stats
- Live Text
Line-ups
Chelsea
Formation 4-2-3-1
28Petrovic
42Gilchrist14Chalobah5Badiashile3Cucurella
25Caicedo23Gallagher
11Madueke20Palmer10Mudryk
15Jackson
- 28Petrovic
- 42GilchristSubstituted forAcheampongat 85'minutes
- 14Chalobah
- 5Badiashile
- 3Cucurella
- 25Caicedo
- 23Gallagher
- 11Madueke
- 20Palmer
- 10MudrykSubstituted forCasadeiat 75'minutes
- 15JacksonSubstituted forTauriainenat 90+4'minutes
Substitutes
- 13Bettinelli
- 31Casadei
- 36de Souza Eugênio
- 46Sturge
- 49Tauriainen
- 54Castledine
- 63Acheampong
- 67George
- 78Dyer
Tottenham
Formation 4-2-3-1
13Vicario
23Porro17Romero37van de Ven12Emerson Royal
8Bissouma29Sarr
22Johnson21Kulusevski7Son Heung-min
9Richarlison
- 13Vicario
- 23Porro
- 17Romero
- 37van de VenBooked at 67mins
- 12Emerson RoyalSubstituted forLo Celsoat 86'minutes
- 8BissoumaSubstituted forHøjbjergat 63'minutes
- 29SarrSubstituted forMaddisonat 63'minutes
- 22JohnsonSubstituted forGilat 78'minutes
- 21Kulusevski
- 7Son Heung-min
- 9RicharlisonSubstituted forBentancurat 63'minutes
Substitutes
- 4Skipp
- 5Højbjerg
- 6Dragusin
- 10Maddison
- 11Gil
- 18Lo Celso
- 30Bentancur
- 40Austin
- 59Moore
- Referee:
- Robert Jones
Match Stats
Home TeamChelseaAway TeamTottenham
- Possession
- Home37%
- Away63%
- Shots
- Home16
- Away19
- Shots on Target
- Home5
- Away3
- Corners
- Home4
- Away9
- Fouls
- Home12
- Away16
Live Text
Post update
Match ends, Chelsea 2, Tottenham Hotspur 0.
Full Time
Second Half ends, Chelsea 2, Tottenham Hotspur 0.
Post update
Attempt missed. Bryan Gil (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from a difficult angle and long range on the left is too high. Assisted by James Maddison.
Post update
Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Moisés Caicedo.
Substitution
Substitution, Chelsea. Jimi Tauriainen replaces Nicolas Jackson.
Post update
Attempt missed. James Maddison (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Giovani Lo Celso.
Post update
Attempt missed. Rodrigo Bentancur (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Son Heung-Min following a fast break.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Giovani Lo Celso with a cross.
Post update
Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Moisés Caicedo.
Post update
Attempt blocked. James Maddison (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is blocked. Assisted by Son Heung-Min.
Post update
Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Conor Gallagher.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Rodrigo Bentancur (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Bryan Gil.
Post update
Son Heung-Min (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Post update
Foul by Benoît Badiashile (Chelsea).
Post update
Attempt saved. Rodrigo Bentancur (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Son Heung-Min.
Post update
Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Guglielmo Vicario.
Post update
Attempt saved. Cole Palmer (Chelsea) left footed shot from long range on the right is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Post update
Foul by Rodrigo Bentancur (Tottenham Hotspur).
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