Disclaimer: I'm a Tottenham fan. Have been for a while. My views will, therefore, be somewhat slanted.
Pre-game (day before) thoughts: Liking our chances against Chelsea ok. Most notably, John Terry is going to be out, and I can't imagine that there is a ton of depth on that defense. What I'm most interested to see is the battle in the midfield. Chelsea, who I've seen a fair amount of this season, works a very fast, finesse based game. Spurs have that ability with Bale and Lennon, but the remnants of their midfield choices seem to have more of a 1994 Knicks sort of feel. Sandro might not be good at much (things like, you know, SOCCER), but he's very physical, and I don't know how much of a beating the smaller Chelsea mids will be able to take. Dembele is equally strong, but actually possesses some skill, and Dempsey can tackle with the best of them. The back line seems like it will be solid, though I'm not sure if Vertonghen will be fast enough at left back to hold off the speedy wingers. And who knows who is gonna start in goal. I'm confident of some result, not sure it's a win.
Immediately pre-game: Welp, so much for that. Bale is out, his lady having gone in to labor (or labour, potentially also the Labour Party) immediately before the game. Dembele is out with an injury. Replacing them are Huddlestone, who shows flashes of competence in a sea of mediocrity and doesn't possess any of Dembele's skill, and Sigurdsson, who has looked pretty much lost this season and has found himself glued to the bench for the beginning of most games. Friedel in goal: the man is solidly 80 years old, but I still feel WAY more confident with him than with Lloris. Let's see how this goes.
Kick-off: My fantasy team has locked (this game features Hazard from Chelsea and Dempsey from Spurs), and we're off.
1': Defoe passes to Dempsey, who is so surprised that Defoe didn't shoot that he gives the ball up. Defoe's the Kobe of the EPL, the man has never met a shot he wouldn't take.
2': Spurs fans breaking out the "When the Spurs Go Marching In" chant early. My favorite part of the soccer watching experience is the songs, wish the games were subtitled.
3': Gallas gets behind the defense, remembers that he himself plays defense, and shanks the shot wide.
4': The fans are booing Ashley Cole pretty vociferously every time he touches the ball. My working assumption is that they're sad to not be able to boo John Terry and need to get their energy out somewhere.
6': Describing games between geographic rivals as "derbies" is another favorite part of soccer. So much better than just calling them rivalry games. Closest analogue I can think of is in college football (world's largest outdoor cocktail party, Red River Rivalry, etc...).
10': First flash of the possession: 60% to Chelsea. Doesn't bode well for Spurs, who are used to having a ton of possession.
11': Corner leaks out to Sandro, who blasts about 8 feet over the bar. As expected.
13: Oscar, taking the throw-in, just made the face that every NFL quarterback makes when he knows he's thrown an interception.
15': Announcer says that the ball was taken cleverly. Which is not to be confused with Cleverly, who plays for Man United.
17': Goal Chelsea. Damn. Ball headed poorly by Gallas right to Cahill, whose volley is deflected off of Caulker and in.
19': Defoe breaks in, is stopped, and Dempsey cannot get to the rebound. First time Spurs have looked interested in offense in the last 15 minutes.
20': Nice passing setup, but Sigurdsson can't get to it.
21': Spurs have done absolutely nothing on the right side. Haven't heard anything from Walker or Lennon, both of whom were very strong last game.
23': Dempsey moves into the center, with Sigurdsson going to the wing. Announcer says that this will either be significant or it won't. Just like everything else.
24': Ivanovich for Chelsea takes a yellow card for a dive that would have made Crosby proud.
29': AVB whistling on the sideline and doing what appears to be an avian mating dance. Apparently, this was code for Huddleston to drive the free kick right into the wall.
30': Lennon with a great cross that Sigurdsson pulls wide.
32': Walker signals to Friedel to come get the ball, who declines the invitation. Walker ends up in the stands. And that's what you get for communication issues.
34': Bad pass by Sandro to nobody in particular. I am unsurprised.
36': Corner to Spurs by Sigurdsson doesnt even make it past the first defender. This is where Spurs miss Bale the most.
38': Stellar save by Friedel to keep it a one-goal game.
39': Yellow card to Gallas, who has not been having a good half. Kaboul cannot get back soon enough.
43': Dempsey has two shots blocked on two successive attempts. He's been very good this game, and might be the best chance Spurs have to score.
HALF: Wow, does this team ever miss Bale. The offense has been running through Vertonghen, which would be fine except that he plays defense. They need to start force-feeding the ball to Lennon, who seems to have a decent matchup against Cole on the outside. They should also bring on Adebayor for either Sandro or Huddleston, too many defensive guys, not enough scoring on the field. Spurs are not out of this game yet, but one more goal and I think they will be.
46': GOAL Spurs! Huddlestone with a great cross, Vertonghen touches it back towards goal, and Gallas heads in. Talk about redemption.
50': Sigurdsson drives down the wing and shoots, stopped by Cech. Spurs look like everything they didn't look like in the first half.
53': Vertonghen with a nice takeaway but shoots right into Cech.
54': GOAL Spurs!!! Lennon, who they've been calling "the Danger Man" for most of the game, crosses and Defoe directs it in. His 200th goal in the Premier League makes it 2-1 Spurs.
56': Torres going after Sandro before a corner. Fernando has no idea what he's getting himself into. Sandro has the craziest eyes in the league, and would definitely be one of the more likely to survive if the Premier League ever held the Hunger Games.
60': Chelsea going down with every bump now, but the referee is having none of it. Probably better to try and stay on their feet.
61': Spurs are finally taking advantage of their size in the midfield.
63': Hazard plays through, but there's nobody there. Spurs turn the ball right back over though. They really need to keep better possession and press whatever momentum advantage they have.
65': Goal, Chelsea. Plenty of bodies collide, referee calls play on, and Gallas again clears it right to the center and Mata scores. 2-2.
67': Defoe tries from about 30 yards, and almost fools Cech, who palms it away.
68': Torres breaks it all alone, but the Spurs D comes in and makes a sliding tackle to keep it out.
69': Goal, Chelsea. Gallas again at fault, failing to get anywhere near Mata on his run, and Mata puts away his second in less than 5 minutes. 3-2 Chelsea.
73': Dempsey off, Adebayor on. Adebayor might be Spurs' best attacking threat, and Dempsey hadn't been doing much in the 2nd half.
84': Lennon puts a shot on that is right at Cech.
85': Nobody defends Torres, who misses wide.
86': Open shot at the top of the 18 yard box by Sandro, who manages to put the ball nowhere near the net.
87': Adebayor passes directly to the Chelsea defense, but luckily the pass is too wide.
88': Defoe's cross falls at Adebayor's feet, but he can't seem to put it on goal.
89': Walker puts a great shot on goal that Cech doesn't pick up until the last second. Corner for Spurs goes to Chelsea.
90': Goal, Chelsea. Walker lets Mata take it off him and Sturridge waits just long enough to stay onside and taps it in. 4-2 Chelsea.
Overall, I think Spurs did ok, especially given that they were missing two important members of their midfield. With Bale, Dembele, and even Scott Parker (who has missed the whole season with an achilles injury), this is a much more dangerous team. Lennon's speed gave Chelsea problems all game, and having an equally fast winger on the other side in Bale may have made the difference. I think that Sandro, Huddlestone, and Sigurdsson are not part of Spurs' best XI, and I think that will be reflected in the weeks to come.
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