Alonso double gives Chelsea first three points at Wembley

Patrick Power 6 years ago 9.2k
Marcos Alonso scored a double to beat Tottenham. AFP

Tottenham played very well, but Chelsea defended equally impressively and Conte claimed all three points by following through his game plan at Wembley.

Wembley was buzzing with the crowd waving white Tottenham flags in support of the team who have recorded one competitive win since 2015 in their new provisional home.

A nervous start from Spurs gave Chelsea the opportunity to burst forward in the early minutes, and the first chance of the game fell to Morata when Azpilicueta floated a ball in from the right, the Spanish striker was unmarked, but he failed to direct his header at goal from seven yards out.

The hosts finally settled on the ball and began to move it around quickly, with good interplay. The good spell of possession saw Harry Kane unleash a strike from 20 yards with Courtois scrambling to deny the first chance for the striker.

Despite Tottenham's dominance, Chelsea still looked calm and composed on the pitch. Even as Alli and Dembele went for goal, with the Belgian firing inches over the bar, the Blues stuck to Conte's game plan.

And they reaped the rewards in the 24th minute, with Marcos Alonso firing a spectacular free-kick into the top corner. David Luiz was brought down in a good position for a left-footer, and the full-back's sensational curler gave Lloris no chance.

Spurs looked slightly rattled at first, but they recomposed and managed to push Chelsea back into their own half. Kane fired a double warning, but Courtois stuck out a leg to block his low strike. Eriksen then whipped a fantastic ball across the face of goal and it simply sailed through the six-yard box with no Spurs players getting a decisive touch.

Just minutes later, Kane cut onto his right foot inside the area, but his low effort bounced back off the post. Pochettino's side continued their dominance after the break, but did everything except find the back of the net.

Chelsea were defending deeper and deeper, which made it difficult for the home side to get close to Courtois. Son came on for Dier with twenty minutes to go, and it seemed to backfire for Tottenham.

With Spurs running out of ideas, Chelsea broke for the first time in ther second half. Morata got the ball onto his right foot inside the box, but his finish was deflected behind for a corner. The Blues appeared to pick up some momentum, and minutes later Willian hit the base of the post from 20 yards.

Tottenham managed to equalise in the 82nd minute, after Eriksen pinged another great cross into the box, Batshuayi, who had just come on for Morata, headed the ball into his own net.

The fixture seemed destined to end in a draw, but Chelsea had one last ace up their sleeve. Tottenham gave the ball away in the middle of the park and nobody picked up Marcos Alonso's surging run into the box. The left-back took one touch before firing a low shot under Lloris.

The keeper should have done better to deal with Alonso's effort and Tottenham failed to respond in the little time they had as Chelsea claimed their first three points of the season.

Mentioned in the news story

Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur
Marcos Alonso
M. Batshuayi