Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur. Premier League.
Stamford BridgeAttendance39,852.
Chelsea 1-0 Tottenham: Enzo Fernandez heads in derby winner as Spurs fans turn on Ange Postecoglou
Report and free match highlights as Enzo Fernandez's header sends Chelsea into the Premier League's top four and boosts their Champions League qualification hopes; Tottenham fans boo Ange Postecoglou's substitution as Spurs lose again and languish in 14th
Friday 4 April 2025 07:57, UK
Tottenham supporters chanted 'You don't know what you're doing' at Ange Postecoglou as their side fell to a 1-0 defeat at Chelsea.
As their fierce local rivals boosted their Champions League qualification chances at Stamford Bridge thanks to Enzo Fernandez's free header, frustration boiled over in the away end as the Spurs fans, who had been chanting against the club's board throughout the game, turned their ire on their manager.
Postecoglou's call to switch Lucas Bergvall for Pape Sarr drew boos from the travelling fans - and Postecoglou appeared to respond by cupping his ears after Sarr scored soon after, although that strike was ultimately ruled out.
The Spurs boss later said that action was unrelated to the earlier criticism from the fans but it follows Mathys Tel going into the away end to talk with supporters after the defeat at Fulham last time out, when Postecoglou was also caught on camera having a row with a fan.
The Spurs supporters continued to air their anger after full-time when their players went over to them. Postecoglou stood well back, while Guglielmo Vicario punched the Chelsea tunnel in frustration as he made his way off the pitch.
Spurs are languishing in 14th in the Premier League and as a result their priority is their Europa League quarter-final with Eintracht Frankfurt next week. But any hope of building confidence and momentum from a big derby day performance disappeared. Tensions between fans, manager and players are now an increasingly concerning issue too.
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The visitors were better after the break, following a first half in which Nicolas Jackson troubled Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven from the first minute, Destiny Udogie denied Enzo Fernandez on the goal-line, Vicario had to save brilliantly from Jadon Sancho and Spurs failed to have a shot on target.
However, Cole Palmer came up with his first assist since December 1 with a fine cross for Fernandez to nod home and, after Sarr's long-range strike was ruled out following a VAR check on his tackle on Caicedo in the build-up and Robert Sanchez saved from Heung-min Son, it was Chelsea celebrating an important result and looking forward to their run-in with relish.
They had seen a second-half goal ruled out of their own - Moises Caicedo's crisp volley scrubbed off after a four-minute VAR check judged Levi Colwill offside - but were deserved winners. A fifth home win on the spin has lifted Chelsea up to fourth in the table and their Champions League chase is looking good. They sit a point ahead of Man City and two clear of Newcastle, who have a game in hand.
A Conference League tie with Legia Warsaw is also coming up and their fans will look to their decisive games ahead with more confidence now than their Spurs-supporting counterparts.
Postecoglou: Not first time my subs have been booed
Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou:
"Tough game, always is when you come here. It was tight, we had to fight hard to stay in it, which I think we did fairly well. Obviously, Vicario pulled off a big save and we had to defend pretty strongly at times. Always a threat going the other way, maybe should have been a little bit more clinical in that front third. But I thought we were in the game and we conceded a really poor goal, which we've been doing too often and it's costing us. And that's really disappointing.
"I thought our response from that was really good, positive. We obviously did equalise and then that got ruled out and we had a couple of big chances towards the end. So, yeah, really disappointed to not get something out of the game."
On cupping his ears to the away end: "It's amazing how things get misinterpreted. I just wanted to hear them cheer, we had just scored a goal - I wanted to hear how loud they could be.
"It's not the first time my substitutions have been booed if you follow my tenure at the club. They are allowed to boo but I wanted them to cheer, I thought it was a cracking goal."
On length of review on Sarr foul which led to equaliser being ruled out: "It's killing the spectacle of the game. If the referee saw that, and needs to see that for six minutes about it. Tell me what's clear and obvious about it, mate?"
Redknapp: VAR and ref right to eventually rule out Sarr strike
Sky Sports' Jamie Redknapp:
"It was clear and obvious. I have no idea why it took Craig Pawson that long. That's the frustration and I totally understand Ange's frustration as it does border on re-reffing the game. But ultimately, they got to the right decision.
"But how Craig Pawson had to stand at the VAR screen for as long as he did when it's a blatant foul? He catches his eye and it's quite a nasty challenge, if I'm honest. This is what we put VAR in for - situations like this.
"But it must be 30 seconds, you've got to understand the game enough to see that's a foul."
Spurs' miserable stats
- Only the Premier League's current bottom four teams have lost more games this season than Tottenham Hotspur, with Spurs losing 16 league games in a campaign for the first time since 2003-04 under Glenn Hoddle & David Pleat (19).
- Tottenham Hotspur have failed to win any of their last nine Premier League games against teams starting the day in the top half of the table (D1 L8), since beating Manchester City 4-0 in November.
