Mauricio Pochettino’s ‘brilliant’ forgotten Chelsea moment that changed Tottenham win

Mauricio Pochettino got everything from his Chelsea side that he has been looking for against Tottenham even if it came with a dose of unwanted moments regardless. The young Blues side at times looked like a rabbit in the headlights as they were challenged by a confident and fired up Spurs team but having been the better side and lost plenty of times already this season it would have been to his delight that they came out on top.

“That’s the football we want, a really competitive game,” he said when asked about the frantic nature of proceedings. “We faced a team full of confidence, and we need to build our confidence. It’s an important victory. We didn’t find the moment to kill [until late] but the most important thing is three points.”

Having performed well but only managed draws from positions of strength against both Liverpool and Arsenal it threatened to be a night that frustrated and baffled Chelsea at times but in a game of lost heads and hot heads it was the 11 men that just about got through.

Very rarely will many of these youthful players be in a situtation even close to this one again as Spurs had two defenders sent off, a star centre-back subbed off injured and James Maddison hauled out of action early with a knock himself. Preparing for a game in that sort of atmosphere is tough but doing it with those circumstances is even harder.

Although it was Destiny Udogie’s first rash challenge that looked to spark the game and Chelsea into life after his 20th minute tackle on Raheem Sterling went without further punishment from VAR, Chelsea had the look of a team that felt under pressure to turn things around even before they equalised.

Perhaps it was the chaotic nature of nearly every kick, the roaring crowd at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the inexperience flowing through the team or a bit of everything and a lot more but panic stations set in early. Levi Colwill found himself fronting up with Pape Matar Sarr after a fairly routine foul and had to be split up from the scramble whilst Reece James showed his anger by leaving an arm hanging in an aerial challenge before the break.

After half-time, which could have done with being twice as long to allow spectators, fans, journalists and the particals making up this spectacle some time to breath and regroup, things only got more on edge. Tottenham’s high-line almost caught them out numerous times between Cristian Romero being sent off and half-time. It continued for the first 10 minutes of the second period and then got even more exaggerated when Udogie was sent for an early bath himself.

The space opened up more, the runs were more frequent and every offside call, miss-timed pass or split decision to move up the field by Spurs led to tensions getting that much more palpable. Nobody seemed to be in control, not even Thiago Silva who spent 50 per cent of the game patrolling his vacant backline and the rest sprinting after Son Heung-min.

Pochettino on the touchline was aghast that this team that thrives on vibes and transition was unable to take advantage of a Spurs line that nearly set up camp – if that’s the right word – in the Chelsea half. His arms got wider and wider in disgust and frustration as his players looked dumbfounded at what to do.

What Pochettino did do, to his credit, is keep a lid on things. Whilst Tottenham argued with their own shadows – they were the architects of their own glorious downfall here, got themselves sent off and can’t complain about VAR really – Chelsea were collected, to an extent.

It started at half-time and with Pochettino. His call to take off Colwill, who was acting more like a fan in a punch-up than a left-back in a derby, proved to be perfect. Marc Cucurella came on and slotted in well having built up some form and confidence in recent weeks, an ode to Pochettino’s man-management, and offered more speed in-behind that Colwill simply can’t bring.

He was also a much calmer head at a time whereby the pitchside temperature on an autumn night in north London must have been past boiling point. Players were melting away with fumes and red mist but the brave call to take off a starting defender – not an attacking change on the surface – proved to be inspired.

“Chelsea will win the game if they keep 11 men on the pitch,” said Jamie Carragher when it was 11v10 at the break. “That’s a brilliant decision from Pochettino.” So it proved to be. There were more disallowed goals, another red card, at least a million offsides and some high-quality drama after half-time, not too much of it down to Cucurella or the lack of Colwill, but the foundation for Chelsea’s eventual win and the psychology behind it may well have come in that moment.