Harry Kane’s equalizing goal six minutes after stoppage time gave Tottenham a dramatic draw when a fiery London derby at Stamford Bridge ended in an angry clash between Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte that resulted in red cards for both managers.
Tempers ran high all the time as Chelsea led twice before Kane’s header gave Spurs a point seconds before the end.
Chelsea dominated the first half and fully earned the 19th minute lead they deserved when they combined their two summer signings together, Kalidou Koulibaly flashed a powerful volley home from Marc Cucurella’s corner.
Spurs struggled to impress, Kane missed their best chance, but tied the score in the 68th minute when Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s shot defeated Edouard Mendy.
Chelsea were furious that referee Anthony Taylor had not penalized Rodrigo Bentancur for a challenge on Kai Havertz, leading to a clash between the two managers that ended with both Chelsea boss Tuchel and Spurs counterpart Conte being shown yellow cards.
Once order was restored, Chelsea were back up front as James scored from Raheem Sterling’s pass, while the excited Tuchel cheered by ecstatically sprinting past Conte.
Chelsea thought they had taken six points from two games until Kane headed into the corner of Ivan Perisic – the antipathy that didn’t end there when a handshake between Tuchel and Conte developed into another feud between the pair, prompting them both to get their marching orders.
Chelsea’s bitter frustration
Chelsea will feel this was a missed opportunity as they have long been the better side to lose the lead twice, once in controversial circumstances, and then with the pain of being pretty much the last move of the game.
Once his obvious anger subsides, Tuchel will be pleased with large parts of Chelsea’s performance, which should have resulted in a win.
Chelsea pushed more efficiently than when Romelu Lukaku was in the lead and were a more composed and compact side than Spurs, who struggled to find any rhythm but still had enough to take a point.
Tuchel will wonder why Anthony Taylor didn’t foul when Bentancur dove on Havertz, and Chelsea also thought Cucurella was caught for Perisic’s corner turned by Kane.
The scenes between the two managers were part of the drama and showed how high the feelings were, but both Tuchel and Conte can expect something from the authorities.
Chelsea’s summer signings made their mark as Koulibaly and Cucurella scored one goal together and Sterling James set up, but there was no doubt who was the happiest manager at the final whistle.
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