Lampard has the last laugh as Chelsea beat Mourinho’s Spurs

Jose Mourinho’s return to Stamford Bridge ended in agony as his Tottenham Hotspur suffered a 2-1 defeat to London rivals Chelsea who took upper hand in the Premier League top four fight.

Former Arsenal star Olivier Giroud and Ross Barkley were handed surprise starts by Blues boss Frank Lampard who in return was rewarded with an emphatic performance from the pair.

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🔵 2-0 ⚪️ [61'] #CHETOT pic.twitter.com/RARENth8KY

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 22, 2020

Giroud opened the scoring in the 14th minute as he volleyed home for his first league goal of the season after Barkley’s effort crashed against the upright.

Spurs eventually got their attacking game going and went close to pulling on 34 minutes as Lucas Moura saw his goal-bound effort deflected over the bar, while Davidson Sanchez had a saved by Willy Caballero from the resultant corner.

Chelsea had got the better of Spurs in North London in December 2019 and they nearly got their second goal just before the halftime break when Barkley fired into the side-netting from Marcos Alonso’s free-kick.

The second goal eventually arrived shortly after the halftime break as Alonso latched onto a pass from Barkley to fire past Hugo Lloris with a superb first finish.

There was a moment of controversy after the hour mark when Spurs’ Giovani Lo Celso appeared to stamp on Cesar Azpilicueta, but there was no decision from the referee and the Video Assistant Referee.

Mourinho responded with a change for the final 25 minutes Tanguy Ndombele made way for Erik Lamela, but Alli was surprisingly only introduced in the 78th minute Steven Bergwijn.

It was the hosts who went close to getting a goal as Alonso rattled the frame of the goal with a powerful free-kick from distance.

Spurs did get a goal back through an Antonio Rudiger own goal in the 89th minute but nevertheless, 2-1 was how the score remained the Blues moved four points clear of Spurs in fourth spot.