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‘David Luiz the leader Antonio Conte needs’ – Three things learnt from Chelsea 4-2 Tottenham
In what was always expected to be one of the closest fixtures of the season, Antonio Conte’s decision to drop both Diego Costa and Eden Hazard meant that Tottenham, the form side, went into the game as favourites when the first whistle blew. However, it was the league leaders who would run out victors after a thrilling FA Cup semi-final.
Both sides started well, but it was Chelsea who opened the scoring with a well taken free-kick from Willian just five minutes in. This immediately removed the favourites tag from Mauricio Pochettino’s men, while putting the Blues in the driving seat.
Spurs did react strongly, with Harry Kane pouncing with a glancing header to draw the scores level only a quarter of an hour later, but Chelsea went into the half-time break with the lead thanks to Victor Moses making the most of a rash challenge by Son Heung Min to win a penalty, which Willian converted to secure his brace.
After the break, Tottenham started superbly, with Christian Eriksen’s exquisite pass setting up Dele Alli to draw the scores back level, for the second time of the afternoon. However, the introduction of Costa and Hazard changed the flow of the game back in the favour of Antonio Conte’s side.
Hazard struck from the edge of the box after a loose ball spilled out of a crowded penalty area after a corner, and then went on to set up Nemanja Matic to score one of the goals of the season, ensuring that Chelsea would progress to the final with ten minutes left on the clock.
Read on over the next few pages to see what we can take from the game…