The report

With Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea two of the leading contenders for top spot in the Under-18 Premier League it was always likely to be a close encounter when the two sides met in north London. In some ways that was the case, but when it came to chances created and converted, the Blues were the only team in it.

After a difficult start when Tottenham's pressing caused us problems, with Max Merrick required to produce a good early save to keep out Callum Olusesi, Chelsea took the lead shortly before the half-hour mark when Tyrique George played Frankie Runham into the right side of the box and the striker took his shot quickly to beat the keeper at the near post.

We doubled our lead when Reiss Denny was given time and space to carry the ball into the box before finding the bottom corner with a left-footed finish. Any Spurs hopes of turning things around after the break were soon dashed, as the second half was just two minutes old when George's smart one-two with Runham opened the home side up for the former to extend our lead.

Josh-Kofi Acheampong then headed in George's cross from close range to make it 4-0 in the 54th minute to all but end the game as a contest, despite Damola Ajayi bundling in a consolation goal for Spurs after Merrick had save his initial effort from eight yards.

The victory means Chelsea close the gap to Tottenham and West Ham, who are level at the top of the Under-18 Premier League table, to three points, having played three games less than the Hammers and four less than Spurs.

The reaction

Having now beaten both of the table-topping sides away from home in the space of five days, this 4-1 win at Tottenham coming soon after a 3-2 victory at West Ham, our Under-18s head coach Hassan Sulaiman was obviously delighted with his team's recent form.

'We’ve built some good momentum in the last few games and certainly over the last week,' said Sulaiman.

'You only have to look at the two teams that we played last week, they’re above us in the league, and we had two very positive performances, but also we managed to get the wins as well. So it was a very pleasing week, the momentum is certainly with us at the moment.'

In Saturday's win at Tottenham, Sulaiman was particularly happy with the way his players were able to control the game, especially in warding off any second-half fightback after taking the lead.

'We spoke about showing Tottenham respect because they’re a good side and when you play against good sides they will have a spell, we’ll have a spell, and it’s important that when momentum changes hands we’re still in control. Whether we’re managing the game in possession or out of possession, we want to maintain control.

'At half-time we said when we’re out of possession we need to make sure our pressing triggers are accurate, we’re staying compact, we don’t allow them to play through us and just make sure we impose our style of play on them, rather than allowing them to dictate the way we play.

'So staying in control was important for us and I think in that second half we were able to manage that a lot better than we have in recent weeks. We got the next goal and then made it four, which of course allowed us to relax a bit more.'

However, despite closing the gap to the top of the table by six points in five days and underlining our credentials as title challengers, it remains business for usual for this ambitious young Blues side.

'Nothing has changed for us, our ambition has always been to try and perform to our maximum and fulfil our potential. We do believe we’ve got a really talented group of boys who can go on to achieve some really good things this season and we showed that in the first half of the season.

'Since the turn of the year, the aim was to build on some of the progress that we’ve already made. So playing those two games last week was a continuation of the good work that was already started by the boys and our aim now is just to keep building.'

The teams

Tottenham Hotspur 1-4 Chelsea

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Max Merrick; Josh-Kofi Acheampong (Genesis Antwi 69), Travis Akomeah (c), Harrison Murray-Campbell (Kaiden Wilson 78), Somto Boniface; Harrison McMahon, Kiano Dyer (Chinonso Chibueze 69); Shaun Wade, Reiss Denny, Tyrique George (Kobe Barbour 86); Frankie Runham
Unused sub: Hudson Sands
Scorers: Runham 27, Denny 38, George 47, Acheampong 54
Booked: Wade 67

Tottenham (4-3-3): Carey Bloedorn, Leo Black, Calum Logan (Ellis Lehane 49), Gabriel Willhoft-King (Theodore Adelusi 63), Archie Chaplin (c), Maeson King, Kieran Morgan (Yusuf Akhamrich 50), Callum Olusesi, Damola Ajayi, Miracle Adewole, Oliver Irow
Unused subs: Samual Archer, Pele Arganese-McDermott
Scorer: Ajayi 71
Booked: Lehane 56, Akhamrich 67, Ajayi 88, Adelusi 89