- Premier League round-up: Tottenham lose to Chelsea and draw
- 2023-01-02 20:08:23.0 Source: Xinhuanet
Author: Zhang Wei
Tottenham and Chelsea, the top two from London who played the 18th round of the Premier League on the 1st, failed to win. Chelsea drew 1:1 away with Nottingham Forest and Tottenham lost 0:2 at home to Aston Villa.
Chelsea scored their opening goal against the ‘promoted horse’ in the relegation zone that day, and English striker Sterling scored from close range in the 16th minute. However, Nottingham Forest, who are obviously behind in possession, are more threatening on the attacking side, forcing Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa to make several saves in front of goal.
After switching sides to fight again, Chelsea didn’t have a single shot to hit the goal. The home team, who had tirelessly launched a counterattack, finally gained ground in the 63rd minute. Aurier took advantage of a free kick corner to volley from a small corner in front of the goal.
Chelsea, who have played 16 games, are currently in eighth place with 25 points, 7 points behind fourth-placed Manchester United. Their next round will host defending champions Manchester City. Manchester City drew 1:1 at home against Everton the day before, and currently has 36 points, and the points gap with the “leader” Arsenal has increased to 7 points.
Tottenham’s performance that day was even more unsatisfactory, with only 6 shots in the crowd, including 2 on goal. In the 50th minute, the goalkeeper of the French national team saved a long-range shot from Luiz and Villa organized a second attack in the penalty area, followed by a blow from Buendia. In the 73rd minute Louis broke the goal after Villa intercepted the ball in midfield and the score was set at 2:0.
Tottenham have lost four times in their last 7 Premier League games, dropping out of the top four, and are still 2 points behind Manchester United in the case of one other game. However, Tottenham manager Conte insisted the team’s performance that day hadn’t been bad. “Football is so strange if you ask me. We dominated the match in the first half and didn’t create chances, but that was because it was a team with 11 players in defence. We started the same way in the second half, but unfortunately suffered one goal, that goal changed the situation and the mentality of the players.”
Tottenham will face Crystal Palace away in the next round.
