Chelsea dominated the first half and were good value for the one-goal lead we held at the break, after some fine Moises Caicedo pressing resulted in Joao Pedro opening the scoring.

In truth, the Blues were rarely troubled by our hosts and we could have added another in the second half, as Pedro Neto twice forced saves from Guglielmo Vicario in normal time, Jamie Gittens missed a great chance late on and the Spurs goalkeeper produced a stunning save to deny Joao Pedro deep into injury-time.

We had to settle for the solitary goal but it was enough to secure another victory over Tottenham and move us into the top four, level on points with Spurs in third.

Ten changes

Having made ten changes to the starting line-up for Wednesday's Carabao Cup win at Wolves, Maresca made another ten alterations today, which included two changes to the side that lost to Sunderland in our last Premier League clash, with Wesley Fofana and Malo Gusto starting instead of Josh Acheampong and Marc Guiu.

Robert Sanchez was back in goal, Gusto started alongside Fofana and Trevoh Chalobah, with Marc Cucurella on the left.

Reece James started in central midfield alongside Moises Caicedo, as Enzo Fernandez played in the more advanced role, with Pedro Neto on the right, Alejandro Garnacho on the left and Joao Pedro leading the line.

As for Spurs, Thomas Frank made two changes to the starting XI that faced Everton, with Pape Sarr and Lucas Bergvall coming in for Xavier Simons and Brennan Johnson.

Just three points separated the Blues and third-placed Tottenham heading into the game.

There was little to talk about in the opening ten minutes as both teams were sizing each other up. The Blues did have a few corners early on but the closest we got to troubling Vicario in goal was a blocked Cucurella shot when a cross was half-cleared.

The Blues had dominated possession in the opening 20 minutes and were carrying the greater threat. We continued to probe but could only muster a wayward long-range effort from James and a relatively tame Garnacho strike which was easily held low to Vicario's left.

The first clear-cut chance came just after the half-hour mark when some good pressing from Garnacho saw the winger divert a pass into the path of Joao Pedro inside the penalty area but his first-time shot on the angle was saved by the legs of Vicario.

Spurs went straight up the other end and had their best opportunity so far, as Mohammed Kudus shot over the bar from outside the area, but a few minutes later and we had taken the lead.

Blues ahead

Caicedo's ability to win the ball back is arguably unrivalled in the Premier League and our opener was almost all down to the Ecuadorian. Deep in the opposition half, Caicedo first tackled Djed Spence, before pressing Xavi Simons to the point he had to pass back to Micky van de Ven and the midfielder then dispossessed the Spurs captain on the edge of his own box. The midfielder then dived in to flick the ball to Joao Pedro, leaving the Brazilian with a relatively simple finish into the top corner.

Chelsea could have doubled our advantage before the break when Gusto crossed from the right and Joao Pedro's first-time effort was struck powerfully but was too central and was palmed over by Vicario.

For all of our dominance, Tottenham had the chance to equalise deep into injury-time when Kudus looked to curl a shot inside the far post but Sanchez produced a smart save, as he parried the ball away from the on-rushing Spurs attackers.

Chelsea started the second period brightly, as Caicedo turned well to beat the Spurs' press and set Enzo on his way. The Argentine had a couple of options either side but opted to shoot, forcing Vicario into a save low to his left.

Chelsea were doing well at keeping Spurs penned in their own half and had three chances in quick succession. Enzo headed over from James' cross, good strength from Joao Pedro led to Neto having a low shot saved and moments later, the Portuguese just couldn't direct the ball goalwards from close range following Garnacho's low delivery across the face of goal.

The Blues went close to a second with just over a quarter of an hour remaining when Gittens passed to Joao Pedro, his flick went into Enzo's path and his pass was followed by a powerful drive from Neto at a tight angle, which had to be parried away. James then curled an effort over from the resulting play.

Chelsea had two glorious chances in injury-time. First a breakaway move ended with Gittens firing over the bar and then Joao Pedro would have scored a second had it not been for an outstanding save by Vicario from point-blank range.

But it wasn't to matter as Chelsea recorded yet another victory against Tottenham. The Blues have now won 11 of our last 14 games against Spurs.

What it means

Chelsea are now up to fourth place on 17 points, level with Spurs in third, Sunderland in fifth and sixth-placed Manchester United - although the Black Cats do have a game in hand. Bournemouth, who also have a game in hand, are one point above in second.

What's next

The Blues' next game comes on Wednesday in the Champions League when we face the long trip to Qarabag.

Our next Premier League fixture sees us back at the Bridge where we face Wolves once again.

The teams

Chelsea: Sanchez; Gusto (Lavia 76), Fofana (Tosin 89), Chalobah, Cucurella; Caicedo, James (c); Neto (Estevao 85), Enzo, Garnacho (Gittens 66); Joao Pedro
Subs not used: Jorgensen, Acheampong, Hato, Andrey Santos, Guiu
Scorers: Joao Pedro 34
Bookings: Chalobah 45+4, Enzo 68

Tottenham: Vicario; Porro, Danso (Romero 59), de Ven, Spence; Bentancur (Richarlison 59), Palhinha, Bergvall (Simons 7, Odobert 73); Kudus, Sarr; Kolo Muani (Johnson 73)
Subs not used: Kinsky, Udogie, Tel, Scarlett
Scorers:
Bookings: Bentancur 45+4, Danso 47, Simons 59, Kudus 74

Referee: Jarred Gillett
VAR: Craig Pawson
Attendance: 61,202