Chelsea will bounce back quickly, says Gary Lim
TOTTENHAM 5
(Harry Kane 30, 52, Danny Rose 44, Andros Townsend 45+4-pen, Nacer Chadli 78)
CHELSEA 3
(Diego Costa 18, Eden Hazard 61, John Terry 87)
Chelsea tripped, stumbled and fell flat on the face.
On the first day of 2015, white-hot Tottenham Hotspur served the Blues a stunning 5-3 beating at White Hart Lane.
Jose Mourinho did his usual.
The Chelsea manager blasted the referee, insinuated at injustice and blamed the whole world for conspiring against them.
But he'll get over this soon enough, and so will Chelsea.
This might be the Blues' worst performance of this season, but it's not a disaster. They are not even close to one.
This is only their second loss in all competitions. They have gone only two league games without a win.
So, Manchester City drew level on points and goal difference with them at the top of the league table.
So what?
Let's not get carried away.
Chelsea had long been cloaked in a sense of infallibility, ever since they began the campaign in blistering fashion.
PAID OUT
In fact, 11 games into the season, an overseas bookmaker even paid out £400,000 ($820,000) to those who backed them to win the league title.
It is precisely why this defeat by Spurs was magnified several times and scrutinised down to the minutest detail.
Suddenly, a backline that was heralded as the league's best was crucified.
Overnight, their title credentials are being questioned, as if this is bound to be the start of a very rough patch.
But this might be about as bad as it can get for Chelsea.
Mourinho raised the bar in the English top flight when he first joined Chelsea in 2004.
For two years, the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger waited for an "inevitable blip", but it never came, as Mourinho swept the league crown back-to-back.
Consistency and mental strength are the hallmarks of his teams.
They have a gift of grinding out results when they don't play well and striking when it's least expected.
Mauricio Pochettino deserves credit for taking the fight to Chelsea. Spurs beat the opponents at their own game through sheer power and pace.
Striker Harry Kane, the jewel in the crown, taunted and teased the Blues defence like no other. The Spurs midfield dominated their counterparts.
This performance should give Mourinho some food for thought, in particular his reluctance to give his first-choice players a much-needed breather when he had the chance.
This season, only 18 players at Chelsea have been given Premiership starts.
The number is significantly less than other more established Premiership sides - Arsenal (22 different players), Man City (22), Liverpool (23), Spurs (23) and Man United (24).
In hindsight, fatigue might have played a part.
The starting back-four positions, for instance, have been rotated among only five players this term, and even then Filipe Luis managed only four starts.
STRIKE FEAR
But even in defeat, Chelsea continued to strike fear in their opponents.
When their most outstanding performer Eden Hazard scored in the 61st minute to narrow the deficit to 4-2, the unease in the Spurs team was palpable.
It was only until Nacer Chadli restored the three-goal lead through a deflected shot that the hosts began to breathe easy once more.
This is not a sign of a team going through a blip.
This is just one game, one bad day at the office.
Chelsea are built on solid ground.
Despite this display, they still possess arguably the sturdiest defence.
In Diego Costa, they have the Premiership's joint-top scorer (14 goals), and in Cesc Fabregas, the league's most prolific assist-maker (14 assists).
The chance to reignite their title charge comes in their very next league fixture, at home on Jan 10.
The opponents? Newcastle, the team who inflicted on them their first loss of the season.
Watch Chelsea get back on their feet.
Was there a 'campaign' against Chelsea?
STOPPED: Tottenham Hotspur's Nacer Chadli is fouled by Chelsea's Willian.
Jose Mourinho complained there was a "clear campaign" against his Chelsea side following the draw at Southampton. PA Sport assesses whether key decisions were fair during the Tottenham -Chelsea clash yesterday morning (Singapore time).
OFFSIDE?
Eden Hazard narrowly kept the ball in out wide and whipped a shot past Diego Costa - the striker was being marked by Kyle Walker - which rebounded off the post to Oscar.
His shot was tapped in by Costa. Spurs defenders' appeals were in vain.
Decision: Goal for Chelsea. Correct.
HAND OF JAN
Jan Vertonghen fell on to the ball after blocking Oscar's run, as the Brazilian playmaker and Mourinho appeal for a penalty.
No one else nearby did and referee Phil Dowd was unmoved.
Decision: Play continued. Correct.
ON THE SPOT
Gary Cahill flew in late on Harry Kane and Dowd had no hesitation in pointing to the spot.
The Chelsea defender's challenge gave him no choice just before half-time, but Mourinho came out of the break, talking into the official's ear.
Decision: Penalty. Correct.
DISAPPEARING BALLS
Mourinho continually complained in the second half when Hugo Lloris took his time to put the ball back into play with a goal-kick.
Decision: Play continued. Mourinho had a point.
HAZARD HACKED?
The Chelsea boss erupted when Hazard burst forward and went down under the challenge of Federico Fazio.
Mourinho complained to fourth official Andre Marriner and wanted a red card as the Spurs defender was the last man, but replays showed Fazio won the ball.
Decision: Play continued. Correct.
SPORTING PLAY
Vertonghen kicked the ball out because Costa took a blow to the head. Rather than return the ball, Fabregas took the throw-in as normal and won a corner, which Spurs cleared.
Decision: Play continued. Grey area, and in Chelsea's favour on this occasion.
Mourinho to rest players against Watford
Jose Mourinho will aim to balance a refreshed team with a winning one when Chelsea host Watford in the FA Cup third round tomorrow.
Rather than send his front-line players into battle after an arduous festive schedule that saw them lose their advantage at the top of the EPL table, Mourinho is likely to rotate his options.
"Obviously, we are going to rest a couple of players. That's normal," he said.
"And give a chance to other people to play and to show (what they can do).
"Obviously, we want to try to beat Watford but, at the same time, we have to analyse the players' conditions and make the right decisions for them."
Striker Diego Costa and forward Eden Hazard are among the regulars who could be rested.
Petr Cech could replace Thibaut Courtois in goal, depending on the severity of the latter's finger injury, while Oscar, Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic are not likely to start. Ramires, who has been plagued by a niggling groin injury, could feature. - PA Sport.
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