Frank Lampard’s Chelsea shared a point with current Premier League leader, Tottenham Hotspur after a goalless draw at the Stamford Bridge. The Blues moved into the game in the understanding that a victory would carry them to the top of the Premier League table, but instead, the stalemate took Tottenham Hotspur back to the summit on the goal dissimilarity while Chelsea stays at the third position.
There were few chances for both Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea and far between throughout the game, as the game was having the air of a high-stakes chess contest rather than the swashbuckling affair.
To convey the truth, a draw was probably a reasonable result. On that note, let us take a look at the three talking points from Chelsea’s goalless draw with Tottenham Hotspur.
#1 The draw probably suits both the teams
Neither side could really complain about the match finishing in a draw. Chelsea did boss possession – finishing with 60℅ of the ball – but as was seen in the game of Tottenham Hotspur with Manchester City, possession is not everything.
Against Spurs, Chelsea took 13 shots but they could manage three on the mark while Tottenham Hotspur had five shots with one on the mark. Basically, this was a game of half-chances and neither side actually came too close to scoring although Mount’s long-distance effort did draw a fine save from Hugo Lloris.
It raises the question that which side out of two is very happy with a point? On the surface, one will confess Tottenham Hotspur, as Jose Mourinho moved back to the summit of the league table after largely being dominated by the Blues in the game.
However, that was Chelsea’s first test against a hard standpoint in some time and Tottenham Hotspur is likely the most dangerous counter-attacking unit in the Premier League. So for Frank Lampard’s men to close down danger was impressive.
All-around, a draw will likely please both Frank Lampard and Jose Mourinho and should deliver a message to the rest of the Premier League that both the teams are bonafide title contenders.
#2 Both the sides missed big opportunities to steal 3 points
While a draw was arguably a decent result, incredibly, both sides were having the possibility to snatch all three points in the dying moments of the game.
The opportunity of Chelsea came first. A long ball over the top was misjudged by debutant Joe Rodon – likely the sole mistake that the Welshman made the game and his attempted header to Lloris knockdown woefully short.
Alternative Oliver Giroud was into the loose ball promptly but the French striker lagged to left the ball over Lloris and into the net.
Moments later, with the game coming upon its end, Tottenham Hotspur had their opportunity. A loose pass from Kurt Zouma found its way to substitute Lucas Moura and unexpectedly, Chelsea was vulnerable. The pass of Moura found Giovani Lo Celso, but the Argentine got to fail to feed Harry Kane and the opportunity went begging.
It was the wild finishing to what had been a very tight, cerebral game but it was a swift reminder that nothing could be accepted for granted in the Premier League. As far as goalless draws go, this wasn’t a faint one by any means.
#3 Lampard’s ‘safe’ gameplay against the big teams can cost the team
They have been slightly crazy, swashbuckling matches in the 2020-21 Premier League, but it’s careful to tell that the clash of Chelsea with Tottenham Hotspur was not one of them.
While both Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea will likely be pleased to come away from Stamford Bridge with a point, Lampard’s moves were questionable against the high flying visitors.
Chelsea stepped into the Spurs game on the back of three Premier League wins and as numerous in Europe, but those wins came against admittedly far weaker sides than Tottenham Hotspur.
Last time, the Blues faced one of the Premier League’s giants– Manchester United – the outcome was a 0-0 stalemate. That game saw Chelsea set up in an extra defensive manner than they were against Tottenham Hotspur.
While the side of Lampard bossed possession against Spurs, it absolutely felt that they hold back at times for fear of being captured on the counter. There was no idea of the free-flowing, attacking football that Chelsea employed to shred Sheffield United or Newcastle United in the recent weeks.
It stays to be recognized whether this type of italic would be Frank Lampard’s tactics against the big teams or whether it was a gameplan solely formulated to close down the counter-attacks of Tottenham. However, one of the richest attacks in the Premier League, it is very hard to be a little dissatisfied with a showing like this.
It remains to be seen whether this kind of tactics would be Lampard’s go-to one against the bigger sides, or whether it was a game plan purely designed to shut down the counter-attacks of Tottenham. With such attacking talent, it is obvious that the fans would want to see some goals coming in these crucial games.
