It’s been almost four years since Tottenham last scored against Chelsea in the Premier League and the watershed moment almost brought the clubs’ managers to blows on Sunday … twice.
Tottenham came back twice in both epic and controversial fashion to leave Stamford Bridge with a 2-2 draw and a single point for the table. Both goals resulted in Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel being separated and eventually handed double red cards to end the afternoon.
Conte previously served as head coach of Chelsea from 2016 to 2018, but Sunday’s match made it clear there’s no love lost between the Italian manager and his former club.
Chelsea got on the board early and dominated the first half, but Tottenham responded out of the break and started to put pressure on the back line.
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The first indication of high tensions came midway through the second half.
Chelsea midfielder Kai Havertz got the inside step over Spurs defender Rodrigo Bentancur and looked in position to double the lead when Bentancur made a sliding tackle to stop the run. Action momentarily came to a halt as everyone -- including Bentancur -- seemingly awaited a whistle. When the foul call never came, the Spurs defender quickly looked down the other end of the field where Pierre-Emile Højbjerg tied the game with a perfect strike to the bottom left corner.
The sidelines erupted in chaos within seconds, with Conte celebrating the equalizer and Tuchel still irate over the no-call on the other end.
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While the managers were eventually separated, the temperature of the match never completely cooled down.
Chelsea regained the lead in the 77th minute and looked set to end the afternoon with a win, but in typical Spurs fashion, Tottenham found an answer in the nick of time by none other than Harry Kane.
The Tottenham captain’s header found the back of the net in the 96th minute of stoppage time.
As the final whistle blew, the two coaches met in the center of the pitch and a ceremonial handshake quickly spiraled into a full-blown bench clearing with players, coaches and other officials all stepping between the two men.
Both coaches were awarded red cards for their behavior.
This was the season’s first matchup between the “Big Six,” and a potential sign of things to come in this rivalry.
While both teams -- particularly Tottenham -- have a rivalry with Arsenal, this matchup is becoming more and more contentious through the years. Chelsea have finished ahead of Spurs in each of the last four seasons, but the gap is narrowing. This also marked the first time Tottenham scored against Chelsea in a Premier League matchup since Nov. 24, 2018.
Their next regular season meeting is scheduled for Feb. 25 and will no doubt be packed with drama.
