As Andre Villas-Boas surveyed the scene, the thought must have occurred to him that the scenario was near-perfect: a slickly-entertaining Chelsea team was playing high tempo, yet intricate, football and winning a thrilling game without Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard or John Terry.
In other words, precisely the mission Roman Abramovich had charged him with a little over a year ago.
The only downside, of course, is that Villas-Boas is now manager of Tottenham. And well though they contributed to an excellent London derby, they were not a match for this new Chelsea side.
Mata of fact: Chelsea had Juan Mata to thank for inspiring a comeback win against Tottenham
MATCH FACTS
TOTTENHAM: Friedel, Walker, Gallas, Caulker, Vertonghen, Huddlestone (Livermore 67), Sandro, Lennon, Sigurdsson, Dempsey (Adebayor 74), Defoe. Subs not used: Lloris, Naughton, Dawson, Falque, Townsend.
Booked: Walker, Gallas, Hudlestone.
Scorers: Gallas 46, Defoe 54.
CHELSEA: Cech, Ivanovic, Luiz, Cahill, Cole, Ramires, Mikel, Oscar (Sturridge 83), Hazard (Lampard 90), Mata, Torres. Subs not used: Turnbull, Romeu, Moses, Azpilicueta, Bertrand.
Booked: Ivanovic, Ramires.
Scorers: Cahill 18, Mata 66, 69, Sturridge 90
Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral)
Booked: Walker, Gallas, Hudlestone.
Scorers: Gallas 46, Defoe 54.
CHELSEA: Cech, Ivanovic, Luiz, Cahill, Cole, Ramires, Mikel, Oscar (Sturridge 83), Hazard (Lampard 90), Mata, Torres. Subs not used: Turnbull, Romeu, Moses, Azpilicueta, Bertrand.
Booked: Ivanovic, Ramires.
Scorers: Cahill 18, Mata 66, 69, Sturridge 90
Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral)
And difficult though it is to argue with Abramovich’s decision to dispense with Villas-Boas, given that the Champions League was subsequently won, it is hard to escape the conclusion that had he been asked to work with this team, his task would have been an awful lot easier.
‘The players they have are on a level of form and so connected with each other, so creative, you can only compliment teams that play like this,’ said Villas-Boas. ‘You have to agree both teams played a good game but you have to accent the trio up front behind the striker were amazing.
‘I think the game was won on individual brilliance from Oscar, Mata and Eden Hazard, who were tremendous today. These are people who can unlock doors and create problems and manage to find gaps and find people because they are extremely creative.
‘This kind of form is what we saw last year with Manchester City.’ As for his new club, they are a different proposition without Gareth Bale and Mousa Dembele.
While Aaron Lennon, Jermain Defoe and Jan Vertonghen all contributed performances which at times exposed the vulnerabilities of Chelsea, ultimately, Spurs cannot do without their two most creative players.
Cracker: Chelsea's Gary Cahill opened the scoring with a contender for goal of the season, volleying home
Chelsea’s early superiority translated into a goal on 17 minutes with a superb volley from Gary Cahill that belied his status as a centre half, though William Gallas’ clearing header that looped into his path was poor.
Tottenham lurched out of their complacency and Defoe responded with a shot that Petr Cech parried, while Ashley Cole had to hook away before Clint Dempsey struck. Lennon delivered a troublesome cross which Cahill managed to clear but only to Gylfi Sigurdsson, who fired wide.
French fancy: William Gallas equalised shortly after half-time with his first goal for Tottenham
The period prior to and immediately after half-time saw Tottenham in full flow.
Then came the equaliser after the break, with Tottenham level within 90 seconds when Tom Huddlestone’s free-kick was headed back across goal by Vertonghen for Gallas to head in almost on the goal-line.
Just deserves Jermain Defoe worked tirelessly up front on his own, and was rewarded with Spurs' second
By the time Tottenham went ahead on 55 minutes — Defoe meeting Lennon’s through-ball with an excellent finish — White Hart Lane was in full voice and Chelsea were on the back foot.
But momentum was transformed again by that man Mata with two goals in three minutes. First, Oscar crossed and Gallas again cleared weakly, allowing Mata to strike into the bottom right-hand corner.
Start as I mean to go on: Mata blasted Chelsea back on level terms from the edge of the box
Double trouble: Mata then latched onto Eden Hazard's pass to smash home the winner
Then came the move of the match, Oscar, Mata and Mikel combining to bamboozle Tottenham before Hazard provided such a perfect, threaded ball through for Mata, that it would have been a travesty not to score. Mata was equal to the task, finishing calmly.
Though Lennon and Kyle Walker tested Cech with long-range strikes, Chelsea grabbed their fourth when Walker dallied, allowing Mata to steal the ball and square along the goal-line for substitute Daniel Sturridge to tap in.
‘Andre, Andre, what’s the score?’ chanted the Chelsea fans, gleefully.
It was harsh on a man who surely was pondering what might have been.
That settles it: Daniel Sturridge came off the bench to poke home the fourth
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