Winning the midfield battle

Reece James was selected alongside Moises Caicedo in the middle of the park, and the pair performed admirably to set the tone for our display.

Caicedo was the clear Player of the Match, combining his destructive qualities with an ability to beat the Tottenham press and initiate attacking moves. Of course, the only goal stemmed from his perseverance in the press as he hounded three Tottenham players into errors before squaring for Joao Pedro to score. That was one of seven occasions we won possession back in the final third.

In total, Caicedo made a game-high five interceptions, and he also won two tackles. Only James with three made more for us, with the skipper recording three interceptions as well.

The pair ranked second and fourth for completed passes in the final third, showing they made good use of the ball on the regular occasions they joined our attacks. James spent 6.5 per cent of the game in possession, the most of anyone in blue, and his 81 touches was easily a game-high figure.

Our central midfield pair were assisted by Enzo Fernandez. The Argentinian was deployed in the number ten role but regularly dropped back into the thick of the action to beef up our midfield and overwhelm the hosts. Fernandez won four aerial duels, two tackles and played four key passes, twice as many as anyone else on the pitch.

The trio’s blend of tenacious, tactical and technical qualities was vital to the team’s success and they were ably supported by Romeo Lavia following his introduction.

Asserting our authority

Our pressing was on point at White Hart Lane. Our players put pressure on the midfield, defence and goalkeeper throughout the game and it meant Spurs struggled to pose attacking problems.

Squeezing Spurs' midfield forced them backwards, allowing us to threaten either by recovering possession or moving the ball at speed. We were able to translate our territorial dominance into good chances, creating an xG (Expected Goals) tally of 3.68.

Of our 15 shots, six were big chances, by Opta’s definition, and we had more than twice as many touches in the opposition box (36 to 15) than Tottenham. Of their three attempts, just one was on target, with their last effort of the game coming in the 71st minute, when we blocked Mohammed Kudus’ shot.

The Ghanaian was responsible for each of Tottenham’s efforts on goal, whereas seven different Chelsea players tried their luck, underlying the threat we carried across the pitch.

It was no surprise, then, the Blues completed more passes and more passes in the final third than Spurs, and with a better accuracy rate.

The scoreline might have been 1-0, but we were far more dominant than the scoreline suggested.

Super Sanchez

When the hosts did launch the ball into the box, Robert Sanchez was consistently there to meet it.

The keeper made five claims and came out on top in each of the three aerial duels he contested – both are season-high figures.

He regularly initiated counter-attacks after catching a Tottenham cross, while three of his nine long passes into the final third found a team-mate. He was unlucky not to free Pedro Neto with a swerving volleyed pass in the first half.

Such was our dominance Sanchez only had one save to make all game, but he made sure it was a good one, parrying Kudus’ awkwardly bouncing strike away from a couple of Tottenham players ready to bounce on a loose ball.

It was an almost faultless display from our No.1.