The Times
Chelsea stay top after crushing Spurs in London derbyMatt Hughes at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea led from gun to tape on the two occasions they won the Barclays Premier League under José Mourinho, so the sight of Carlo Ancelotti’s side moving ahead by a length should worry the rest of the field.
It is too early for talk of a two-horse title race, but Chelsea appear the best-placed to give Manchester United a run for their money after moving three points clear with a sixth successive victory.
Roman Abramovich, the owner, has seen three further managers depart since Mourinho briefly threatened to bring about a power shift from the North West to West London, making it somewhat ironic that Chelsea have achieved their best start to a season since the reign of the “Special One” by going back to basics.
The managers may change with the seasons at Stamford Bridge, but the awe-inspiring power, professionalism and commitment of their players remains the same.
In fairness to Ancelotti, his rapidly developing side are more than just a Mourinho tribute act, because the Italian appears to have fused the trademark discipline and dynamism of the Portuguese with the flair that briefly flowered under Luiz Felipe Scolari last season. After years spent failing Abramovich’s purist versus pragmatist test, Chelsea’s class of 2009-10 are showing signs of offering the best of both worlds.
Didier Drogba remains as menacing as ever, as he demonstrated by creating goals for Ashley Cole and Michael Ballack before scoring the third, and the midfield diamond contains an impressive blend of adventure and security. But the attacking threat of the full backs is the real revelation.
The best example was provided by Cole, who ghosted in behind Vedran Corluka in the 33rd minute to meet Drogba’s cross with a diving header to open the scoring and help to set a club record of 11 successive Premier League wins.
“This is the best squad, best team and best spirit since I’ve been here,” Cole said. “They won the title before I came here so we’re maybe not as good as that, but we’re getting there. We’re all together, we always fight for each other on and off the pitch.”
The scoreline suggests that Chelsea went on to win at a canter, but the truth is rather more complex. After competing as equals during a first half in which Jermain Defoe, Tom Huddlestone and Jermaine Jenas missed good opportunities to give them the lead, Tottenham imploded in the space of ten second-half minutes. Ledley King hobbled off with a hamstring injury, Robbie Keane was denied a clear-cut penalty and Ballack scored Chelsea’s second goal after Carlo Cudicini had saved a volley from Drogba.
Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham manager, was understandably annoyed at Howard Webb’s failure to spot Ricardo Carvalho’s 55th-minute trip on Keane as the Ireland striker reached the byline, but viewed the loss of King eight minutes earlier as more crucial. The visiting team suffered a further blow when Sébastien Bassong was knocked unconscious and carried off with a suspected broken cheekbone minutes from the end, leaving Redknapp without his four first-choice centre backs.
“In the first half-hour I was delighted and thought we could win it,” Redknapp said. “If Robbie went down with the first contact, it’s a penalty, but he was too honest. With all the talk there’s been about diving, he tried to stay on his feet.
“It was a nailed-on penalty, but Ledley going off was the big turning point. Once we lost Ledley there was no way we could deal with Drogba. [Ledley is] the most fantastic player, but if you don’t train, you can’t just go out and play without doing damage to hamstrings, groins or calves. Bassong doesn’t look too good, either. He got a bang on the head and his eye’s all swollen up.”
Drogba was also in need of a stretcher with five minutes remaining, but Ancelotti’s worst fears soon receded as the Ivory Coast striker was revealed to have cramp, meaning that he is likely to be available for Saturday’s visit to Wigan Athletic.
Ancelotti was as deadpan as ever, refusing to heap praise on his players or express an opinion on United’s thrilling victory in their derby. “I’m interested that Chelsea play well and win,” he said. “Other things are not important for us.”
The manager’s refusal to get carried away reflects his realisation that Chelsea are exactly where they should be after six matches against modest opposition. The real tests are to come, starting with Liverpool’s visit a week on Sunday.
Chelsea (4-1-3-2): P Cech 6 J Bosingwa 7 R Carvalho 5 J Terry 6 A Cole 7 M Essien 5 M Ballack 6 F Lampard 6 F Malouda 6 N Anelka 6 D Drogba 7 Substitutes: J O Mikel 6 (for Ballack, 62min), S Kalou (for Drogba, 85), F Borini (for Anelka, 89). Not used: Hilário, B Ivanovic, J Belletti, S Hutchison. Next: Wigan Athletic (a).
Tottenham Hotspur (4-3-3): C Cudicini 5 V Corluka 4 L King 6 S Bassong 6 B Assou-Ekotto 6 J Jenas 6 W Palacios 6 T Huddlestone 6 A Lennon 6 J Defoe 5 R Keane 5. Substitutes: A Hutton 5 (for King, 47min), P Crouch 5 (for Defoe, 67), N Kranjcar (for Bassong, 82). Not used: H Gomes, D Bentley, K Naughton, G Dos Santos. Next: Burnley (h).
Referee: H Webb. Attendance: 41,623.
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Telegraph:
Chelsea 3 Tottenham Hotspur 0 By John Ley
Chelsea returned to the top of the Premier League today by beating Tottenham Hotspur and, in so doing, claimed a club record 11th straight victory, at Stamford Bridge.
Earlier in the day Manchester United had moved into first spot with a dramatic 4-3 win over rivals Manchester City. But after Ashley Cole had given Chelsea an early advantage, second half goals from Michael Ballack and Didier Drogba confirmed the victory.
Spurs were left to rue wasted first half opportunities, with Petr Cech saving from Jermain Defoe and Tom Huddlestone while the recalled Jermaine Jenas also went close.
Chelsea’s Jose Bosingwa struck the angle of right post and cross bar, from 20 yards, Frank Lampard headed wide and Nicolas Anelka found the side netting. And the home side were unfortunate not to win a penalty when Spurs defender Vedran Corluka shoved Ballack.
But, seconds later, Drogba crossed from the right and Cole, slipping inside Corluka, stooped to head the 32nd minute opener.
Before the interval Lampard struck a low free kick narrowly wide and, soon after the restart the England midfielder was allowed to offer another chance when Ledley King pulled up unchallenged.
The Spurs defender appeared to feel his knee and, with only three minutes of the half played, was replaced by Alan Hutton.
In the 55th minute, Spurs manager Harry Redknapp was furious when referee Howard Webb refused to award a penalty when Robbie Keane fell under the weight of a challenge from Ricardo Carvalho.
And Spurs’ woe increased three minutes later when sloppy defending handed Chelsea a second goal. Nicolas Anelka crossed from the right, Drogba’s volley was only parried by former Chelsea goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini, and Lampard was allowed to pull the ball back from the byline, allowing Ballack to bundle it over the line under pressure from Sébastien Bassong.
Corluka was at fault for the third goal, in the 63rd minute. Cole’s long ball sent Drogba chasing and the striker robbed the Croat before stepping around Cudicini to finish in style for his 99th goal for Chelsea.
And then Benoît Assou-Ekotto was lucky not to concede a penalty when he clearly handled Lampard’s latest free kick.
Before the end, Spurs lost another central defender when Bassong fell heavily on his shoulder in a challenge with Anelka and, during lengthy treatment, required oxygen to ease the pain and a neck-brace to support the injury before he was stretchered off.
And then Drogba damaged his right calf with an attempted shot and he, too, had to be carried off, meaning that an extra eight minutes had to be played before Spurs were put out of their misery.
Peter Crouch thought he had scored for Spurs, in the sixth minute of added time – but it was ruled out for offside.
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Guardian:
Chelsea's Didier Drogba completes a miserable day for SpursBuzz up!
Chelsea 3 Cole, A 32, Ballack 58, Drogba 63 Tottenham Hotspur 0
Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge
The fire and brimstone may have been reserved for a venue 200 miles further north, but the Premier League leadership remains in west London. Chelsea's serene progress under Carlo Ancelotti was maintained with a sixth consecutive victory that restored their three-point advantage at the top while most were still digesting events at Old Trafford. The Italian's perfect start almost feels as if it has slipped in under the radar.
The run of wins needs to be put into context. This was actually a club record 11th win in succession – another José Mourinho record has been eclipsed – yet it was Chelsea's sternest test this season. A combination of Tottenham Hotspur's profligacy and an oversight by the referee, Howard Webb, contributed to the hosts extending their sequence. Spurs left crying injustice, after Robbie Keane's penalty appeals were rejected when the visitors were only one goal behind.
In truth, the tide had turned by then. It was the ping of Ledley King's hamstring three minutes into the second half that truly signalled that this game would be beyond Tottenham. By the end they had been buried as Didier Drogba, liberated from his marker's shackles, bulldozed them into submission. The Ivorian still tumbles to the ground too easily, but he is simply devastating when he builds up a head of steam and stays on his feet. Spurs, wounded at the heart of their defence, parted for him as the game slipped away. The cramp that curtailed the striker's afternoon was a blessing, though Tottenham had long since been bloodied and bruised.
Ancelotti said in the aftermath that his team could win key contests without their talismanic forward, pointing to the narrow success over Porto in midweek as evidence, though his anxiety as he awaits news on the forward's calftomorrow will betray the reality. The goal Drogba scored just after the hour, latching on to Ashley Cole's punt to out-pace and out-muscle Vedran Corluka and poke the ball around Carlo Cudicini before slamming it into the empty net, was his fifth of the league season. Yet his game cannot be measured purely in weight of goals.
Too many opponents shrink in his mere presence. King was not one of them – the strength the centre-half showed in holding off the forward towards the end of the first half brought a smile of admiration from Drogba – but Spurs' best defender could not suppress him on his own. The forward merely ventured wider on the field, to find the space and time to whip in the cross that Cole, sprinting, unnoticed, beyond the hapless Corluka at the far post, converted.
Once King had retreated, Tottenham only wilted. The substitute Alan Hutton seemed frozen in blind panic as Drogba cushioned Nicolas Anelka's cross on his chest and drew a save from Cudicini. Frank Lampard reacted from the rebound, dragging the ball back for Michael Ballack to bundle it into the unguarded net.
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Independent:
Drogba unleashed to halt Spurs' progress
Chelsea 3 Tottenham Hotspur 0
By Glenn Moore
This derby may have lacked the drama of Manchester's but it was notably more conclusive. "Tottenham are back" rang around Stamford Bridge at the end but the chant was gloatingly ironic. This has been a sobering nine days for Spurs, their opening burst of four victories followed by successive defeats to "Big Four" clubs with three goals conceded in each. And, with Ledley King and Sébastien Bassong departing with injuries yesterday, making a quartet of lame centre-halves at the club, their defensive insecurities will continue.
For Chelsea, however, it was confirmation that Carlo Ancelotti's low-key arrival could have high-profile results. The Premier League leaders took a while to come to terms with Spurs' formation, and were fortunate to survive a strong penalty appeal at 1-0, but their class and strength won through.
Didier Drogba epitomized both elements and none of the Spurs defenders came to terms with him. His Champions League ban has had the unintended benefit for Chelsea of rendering Drogba fresh for the domestic programme and he set about Spurs' defence with gusto, making the first two goals and scoring the third. However, he then limped off after a mis-hit shot. Ancelotti said it was a calf problem which he hoped was "just cramp". Fortunately Chelsea's next major test is not until Liverpool visit on 4 October.
"We are very happy because we won a difficult, important game," added Ancelotti, who has surpervised the last six of this club record 11-match winning run.
For Redknapp the game swung on two incidents early in the second half, King's exit and Robbie Keane's denied spot-kick. "Ledley's going was a big turning point for us," the Spurs manager said. "Once we lost him there was no way we could deal with Drogba. He's too strong, too powerful." As for the penalty Redknapp, whose ire was aggravated by the memory of Howard Webb wrongly giving a match-changing penalty against Spurs at Old Trafford last spring, said: "If Robbie goes down at first contact it's nailed on, but he tried to keep his feet. He's too honest really. If [the referee] felt he dived, why not give him a yellow card?"
Redknapp's disappointment at the result was compounded by the hope engendered by his side's bright start. He went with a tight midfield three, to counter Chelsea's diamond midfield, with an equally narrow attack which featured Aaron Lennon and Keane buzzing around behind Jermain Defoe. "We caused them problems with our movement and were much the better team for the first half-hour," said Redknapp. However, packing central midfield left a lot of space on the flanks which Jose Bosingwa, who crashed a shot against the bar in the seventh minute, and Ashley Cole utilised.
Chelsea's front men also went wide at every opportunity and the tactic brought reward in the 32nd minute. The home side worked an overload on the right and Drogba delivered an excellent, deep cross which Cole, sneaking in on Vedran Corluka's blind side, headed in at the far post.
It was a grievous blow to a Tottenham side which should have been ahead. Wilson Palacios split the Chelsea defence after 11 minutes to send Defoe clear but the in-form striker's shot hit the outstretched leg of Petr Cech. The keeper then scrambled away a deflected Palacios drive before watching Jermaine Jenas whistle a shot wide. At this point Michael Essien looked lost but he, and Chelsea, adjusted to Spurs' shape and Cole's goal was not a surprise.
Nevertheless, the match seemed in the balance at the break. Then King, soon after the resumption, turned with Drogba to chase a through ball but crumpled to the ground. As he limped off Redknapp, he revealed later, turned to his assistant Kevin Bond and said, "We're in trouble now." He was right, but not before Spurs had one last glimmer of hope. Keane wriggled in to the area before appearing to be tripped by Ricardo Carvalho. Webb, who was close but poorly sighted, waved play on. Keane, furious, demanded to be booked for diving. It was an example of where one of Michel Platini's additional assistant referees might have seen the offence, but only if he was on that side of the goal, and even then it was not clear-cut.
Soon after Nicolas Anelka ran off Palacios to collect a ball down the line and crossed. Drogba held off Hutton and though Carlo Cudicini parried, Frank Lampard, reacting quicker than Corluka or Bassong, squared for Michael Ballack to score. Then Drogba muscled Corluka aside for the third and it could have become a rout.
Chelsea (4-1-2-1-2): Cech; Bosingwa, Carvalho, Terry, A Cole; Essien; Ballack (Mikel, 61), Malouda; Lampard; Anelka (Borini, 88), Drogba (Kalou, 83). Substitutes not used: Hilario (gk), Ivanovic, Belletti, Hutchinson.
Tottenham (4-3-2-1): Cudicini; Corluka, King (Hutton, 48), Bassong (Kranjcar, 79), Assou-Ekotto; Jenas, Huddlestone, Palacios; Lennon, Defoe (Crouch, 67); Keane.
Substitutes not used: Gomes (gk), Bentley, Naughton, Giovani.
Referee H Webb (S Yorkshire).
Booked: Tottenham Bassong, Jenas.
Man of the match: Drogba
Attendance: 41,623
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Mail:
Chelsea 3 Tottenham Hotspur 0:Blues make class tell as suffering Spurs left behind at Stamford Bridge
By Ivan Speck
Nine days ago, Chelsea and Tottenham stood proudly arm-in-arm in perfection atop the Barclays Premier League.
By late afternoon yesterday, as the sun set on Stamford Bridge and John Terry cavorted playfully on the pitch with his young twins Georgie and Summer - in Chelsea kits both with their names proudly emblazoned on the back, a world of ambition separated the clubs.
Chelsea, fortified by Terry's steel, energised by Frank Lampard's persistence and electrified by the effervescent Didier Drogba, know that summit meetings with Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal during the two coming months will define the significance of their unbeaten start.
Tottenham, on the other hand, must now fight to convince their supporters that the dazzling form of August was not another cruel mirage.
What is more, they must almost certainly do so without any of the four recognised central defenders on their books after losing both Ledley King and Sebastien Bassong to injury during a second half that became a slide into oblivion as a tiny gap between the sides became a yawning chasm.Clearly, the secrets they have learned at White Hart Lane of how to beat Chelsea in recent seasons do not apply at Stamford Bridge, and on this evidence their miserable record of not having won there since 1990 will continue for some time.
The paradox that this match presented was that for half an hour Spurs offered the more potent threat.
Harry Redknapp sprang a surprise by releasing Aaron Lennon into a roving role behind Robbie Keane and Jermain Defoe, and Chelsea's defenders didn't quite know whether to follow the England winger from flank to flank or to try to manage more the gaps he was creating.A case in point arrived after 15 minutes. Lennon drifted over to the left, picking up the ball in space. As he threatened an angled run, Ricardo Carvalho stood off him, so Lennon simply stroked the ball easily into the path of Jermaine Jenas, whose scorching drive flew inches wide.
The trouble was that, while Tottenham's peaks were spiky, they were also isolated. Too often the front trio were despatched upfield with little support.
Chelsea, by contrast, moved as a unit, one whose powerful insistence could eventually no longer be contained.
If the opening 32 minutes brought only a rasping 20-yard Jose Bosingwa shot which struck the junction of post and bar and rebounded to safety, their next attack was clinical.
Drogba curled a diagonal low cross in at pace from the right. Vedran Corluka, who endured a torrid afternoon, lost his bearings at the far post and Ashley Cole suddenly darted in front of the Croat, stooped and conquered with a diving header little more than eight inches above the turf.
True, it required the majestic Michael Essien to perform a surgically precise tackle at high speed to prise the ball out from under Lennon's feet as the free spirit attacked the Chelsea rearguard at full speed six minutes before halftime.
And, the home support also held its collective breath nine minutes after the interval when Keane stumbled under a Carvalho challenge in the area, but Chelsea, you felt, had been released.It was unclear how much contact was made by Carvalho on Keane - there was some - but within three minutes the game was over.
Nicolas Anelka's deep cross was cushioned with impish precision on the chest of Drogba, whose shot on the swivel caused Carlo Cudicini to push away for a corner.
Except that, sensing the opportunity, Lampard wrapped his foot around the ball before it went out and squared it back across an empty goalmouth for the incoming Michael Ballack to steer home.
Defeat turned to embarrassment in the 63rd minute. A ball over the top found the galloping Drogba outpacing the wooden Corluka once more.
Drogba cut across his man and as the two converged and were met by the onrushing Cudicini, the ball popped out to the side, allowing Drogba to scoot around the keeper and side-foot the ball gleefully over the line.
The only question that remained was the margin of Chelsea's win. A Jon Mikel Obi volley squirmed under Cudicini, who somehow managed to shovel it out for a corner.
By the time Mikel's fellow substitute, Salomon Kalou, burst into the box in the 88th minute and struck a Tottenham post, the ball cannoning back against the hapless keeper, Cudicini would have been forgiven for questioning the wisdom of emerging from the sanctuary of Chelsea's reserves to try his luck at a starting role elsewhere.
Tottenham's misery, which had been compounded by King limping off three minutes into the second half and then the sorry sight of Bassong being stretchered off in clear distress, a brace around his neck, following an awkward tussle with Anelka, was completed six minutes into injury time.
Substitute Peter Crouch rounded Peter Cech and rolled home only for an offside flag to halt even the meekest of Tottenham celebrations. The division between the sides, it appears, remains unbridged.
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Sun:
Chelsea 3 Spurs 0
IAN McGARRY at Stamford Bridge
AFTER the mayhem came the master-class.
Old Trafford may have been the place for thrills yesterday but Stamford Bridge remains a fortress.
Chelsea's demolition of Spurs did not have the drama of the Manchester derby but it starred the country's best team.
Six wins out of six. Eleven consecutive Premier League victories stretching back to last season which beats the club record set by Jose Mourinho's title-winning side in 2005.
A perfect start by a team that is beginning to make flawless look easy.
Tottenham's second league defeat in a week - the other to United - has put them back in their place as title also-rans.
The fact Spurs have failed to beat any of the Big Four in 64 attempts on the road says it all.
Chelsea, on the other hand, continue to enhance their image as the team to wrest the crown from Alex Ferguson's side.
They were simply devastating. Having soaked up 20 minutes of pressure the response was a killer.
Didier Drogba turned from poacher to provider and whipped in a cross that saw Ashley Cole dive at the back post to head the opener.
And despite Harry Redknapp's side having tested Chelsea in all areas until then, the contest was over.
Redknapp complained bitterly that Robbie Keane should have had a penalty nine minutes into the second half but the claim was more doubtful than the outcome.
Four minutes after that, Michael Ballack tapped in to make absolutely sure of the three points.
Spurs boss Redknapp admitted the loss of centre-half Ledley King with a hamstring injury left them at the mercy of the Drog.
And he was not wrong. King was already on the physio's table when Ivory Coast skipper Drogba took Nicolas Anelka's cross on his chest.
His control allowed him to volley at ex-Chelsea keeper Carlo Cudicini, who could only parry the ball into the path of Frank Lampard.
A simple centre to Ballack put Chelsea 2-0 up but the players ran to Drogba and Lamps to celebrate.
Then Cole dinked a hopeful ball into the inside-left channel on 63 minutes which Drogba chased like his life depended on catching it.
Vedran Corluka - woefully standing in at centre-half - tried to tackle him but only succeeded in knocking the ball round Cudicini.
Drogba followed the same path and swept the ball into an empty net to complete the rout.
The scoreline, though, was a bit harsh on the visitors. After confronting United with a three-pronged attack, Redknapp matched Chelsea with a diamond midfield yesterday.
Aaron Lennon was given licence to float on either flank and hover behind Jermain Defoe to make a nuisance of himself.
The ploy worked well enough to set up chances for Tom Huddlestone and Jermaine Jenas in the opening exchanges which had Petr Cech scrambling.
It was Michael Essien who made the real difference when he gave a lesson in the lost art of the tackle.
Paul Scholes is rightly considered the finest passer in English football over the past decade but his careless lunging at White Hart Lane last weekend saw him sent off.
United boss Ferguson could do worse than sit Scholes down in front of a DVD of Essien's 40th-minute challenge on Lennon.
He tracked the Spurs winger for 30 yards before stretching perfectly with his right boot to spoon the ball away and collect possession.
Lennon's momentum saw him tumble and his team-mates appealed for a penalty. Not a bit of it. It was the perfect challenge.
The same cannot be said of Ricardo Carvalho's on Keane but the reaction of the Spurs skipper led to justice, regardless of the claims.
Carvalho did make contact but Keane initially stayed on his feet before tumbling like a stuntman.
Ref Howard Webb waved away the appeals and even refused to book Keane for diving - despite his insistence he should get one if there was no foul.
All of this, however, was an example of wasted energy from Spurs.
Even Peter Crouch's introduction had little effect outside of him straying offside in injury-time to score a goal that never was.
Chelsea are top of the league, a 100 per cent record and playing well - who could ask for more?
Chelsea stay top after crushing Spurs in London derbyMatt Hughes at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea led from gun to tape on the two occasions they won the Barclays Premier League under José Mourinho, so the sight of Carlo Ancelotti’s side moving ahead by a length should worry the rest of the field.
It is too early for talk of a two-horse title race, but Chelsea appear the best-placed to give Manchester United a run for their money after moving three points clear with a sixth successive victory.
Roman Abramovich, the owner, has seen three further managers depart since Mourinho briefly threatened to bring about a power shift from the North West to West London, making it somewhat ironic that Chelsea have achieved their best start to a season since the reign of the “Special One” by going back to basics.
The managers may change with the seasons at Stamford Bridge, but the awe-inspiring power, professionalism and commitment of their players remains the same.
In fairness to Ancelotti, his rapidly developing side are more than just a Mourinho tribute act, because the Italian appears to have fused the trademark discipline and dynamism of the Portuguese with the flair that briefly flowered under Luiz Felipe Scolari last season. After years spent failing Abramovich’s purist versus pragmatist test, Chelsea’s class of 2009-10 are showing signs of offering the best of both worlds.
Didier Drogba remains as menacing as ever, as he demonstrated by creating goals for Ashley Cole and Michael Ballack before scoring the third, and the midfield diamond contains an impressive blend of adventure and security. But the attacking threat of the full backs is the real revelation.
The best example was provided by Cole, who ghosted in behind Vedran Corluka in the 33rd minute to meet Drogba’s cross with a diving header to open the scoring and help to set a club record of 11 successive Premier League wins.
“This is the best squad, best team and best spirit since I’ve been here,” Cole said. “They won the title before I came here so we’re maybe not as good as that, but we’re getting there. We’re all together, we always fight for each other on and off the pitch.”
The scoreline suggests that Chelsea went on to win at a canter, but the truth is rather more complex. After competing as equals during a first half in which Jermain Defoe, Tom Huddlestone and Jermaine Jenas missed good opportunities to give them the lead, Tottenham imploded in the space of ten second-half minutes. Ledley King hobbled off with a hamstring injury, Robbie Keane was denied a clear-cut penalty and Ballack scored Chelsea’s second goal after Carlo Cudicini had saved a volley from Drogba.
Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham manager, was understandably annoyed at Howard Webb’s failure to spot Ricardo Carvalho’s 55th-minute trip on Keane as the Ireland striker reached the byline, but viewed the loss of King eight minutes earlier as more crucial. The visiting team suffered a further blow when Sébastien Bassong was knocked unconscious and carried off with a suspected broken cheekbone minutes from the end, leaving Redknapp without his four first-choice centre backs.
“In the first half-hour I was delighted and thought we could win it,” Redknapp said. “If Robbie went down with the first contact, it’s a penalty, but he was too honest. With all the talk there’s been about diving, he tried to stay on his feet.
“It was a nailed-on penalty, but Ledley going off was the big turning point. Once we lost Ledley there was no way we could deal with Drogba. [Ledley is] the most fantastic player, but if you don’t train, you can’t just go out and play without doing damage to hamstrings, groins or calves. Bassong doesn’t look too good, either. He got a bang on the head and his eye’s all swollen up.”
Drogba was also in need of a stretcher with five minutes remaining, but Ancelotti’s worst fears soon receded as the Ivory Coast striker was revealed to have cramp, meaning that he is likely to be available for Saturday’s visit to Wigan Athletic.
Ancelotti was as deadpan as ever, refusing to heap praise on his players or express an opinion on United’s thrilling victory in their derby. “I’m interested that Chelsea play well and win,” he said. “Other things are not important for us.”
The manager’s refusal to get carried away reflects his realisation that Chelsea are exactly where they should be after six matches against modest opposition. The real tests are to come, starting with Liverpool’s visit a week on Sunday.
Chelsea (4-1-3-2): P Cech 6 J Bosingwa 7 R Carvalho 5 J Terry 6 A Cole 7 M Essien 5 M Ballack 6 F Lampard 6 F Malouda 6 N Anelka 6 D Drogba 7 Substitutes: J O Mikel 6 (for Ballack, 62min), S Kalou (for Drogba, 85), F Borini (for Anelka, 89). Not used: Hilário, B Ivanovic, J Belletti, S Hutchison. Next: Wigan Athletic (a).
Tottenham Hotspur (4-3-3): C Cudicini 5 V Corluka 4 L King 6 S Bassong 6 B Assou-Ekotto 6 J Jenas 6 W Palacios 6 T Huddlestone 6 A Lennon 6 J Defoe 5 R Keane 5. Substitutes: A Hutton 5 (for King, 47min), P Crouch 5 (for Defoe, 67), N Kranjcar (for Bassong, 82). Not used: H Gomes, D Bentley, K Naughton, G Dos Santos. Next: Burnley (h).
Referee: H Webb. Attendance: 41,623.
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Telegraph:
Chelsea 3 Tottenham Hotspur 0 By John Ley
Chelsea returned to the top of the Premier League today by beating Tottenham Hotspur and, in so doing, claimed a club record 11th straight victory, at Stamford Bridge.
Earlier in the day Manchester United had moved into first spot with a dramatic 4-3 win over rivals Manchester City. But after Ashley Cole had given Chelsea an early advantage, second half goals from Michael Ballack and Didier Drogba confirmed the victory.
Spurs were left to rue wasted first half opportunities, with Petr Cech saving from Jermain Defoe and Tom Huddlestone while the recalled Jermaine Jenas also went close.
Chelsea’s Jose Bosingwa struck the angle of right post and cross bar, from 20 yards, Frank Lampard headed wide and Nicolas Anelka found the side netting. And the home side were unfortunate not to win a penalty when Spurs defender Vedran Corluka shoved Ballack.
But, seconds later, Drogba crossed from the right and Cole, slipping inside Corluka, stooped to head the 32nd minute opener.
Before the interval Lampard struck a low free kick narrowly wide and, soon after the restart the England midfielder was allowed to offer another chance when Ledley King pulled up unchallenged.
The Spurs defender appeared to feel his knee and, with only three minutes of the half played, was replaced by Alan Hutton.
In the 55th minute, Spurs manager Harry Redknapp was furious when referee Howard Webb refused to award a penalty when Robbie Keane fell under the weight of a challenge from Ricardo Carvalho.
And Spurs’ woe increased three minutes later when sloppy defending handed Chelsea a second goal. Nicolas Anelka crossed from the right, Drogba’s volley was only parried by former Chelsea goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini, and Lampard was allowed to pull the ball back from the byline, allowing Ballack to bundle it over the line under pressure from Sébastien Bassong.
Corluka was at fault for the third goal, in the 63rd minute. Cole’s long ball sent Drogba chasing and the striker robbed the Croat before stepping around Cudicini to finish in style for his 99th goal for Chelsea.
And then Benoît Assou-Ekotto was lucky not to concede a penalty when he clearly handled Lampard’s latest free kick.
Before the end, Spurs lost another central defender when Bassong fell heavily on his shoulder in a challenge with Anelka and, during lengthy treatment, required oxygen to ease the pain and a neck-brace to support the injury before he was stretchered off.
And then Drogba damaged his right calf with an attempted shot and he, too, had to be carried off, meaning that an extra eight minutes had to be played before Spurs were put out of their misery.
Peter Crouch thought he had scored for Spurs, in the sixth minute of added time – but it was ruled out for offside.
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Guardian:
Chelsea's Didier Drogba completes a miserable day for SpursBuzz up!
Chelsea 3 Cole, A 32, Ballack 58, Drogba 63 Tottenham Hotspur 0
Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge
The fire and brimstone may have been reserved for a venue 200 miles further north, but the Premier League leadership remains in west London. Chelsea's serene progress under Carlo Ancelotti was maintained with a sixth consecutive victory that restored their three-point advantage at the top while most were still digesting events at Old Trafford. The Italian's perfect start almost feels as if it has slipped in under the radar.
The run of wins needs to be put into context. This was actually a club record 11th win in succession – another José Mourinho record has been eclipsed – yet it was Chelsea's sternest test this season. A combination of Tottenham Hotspur's profligacy and an oversight by the referee, Howard Webb, contributed to the hosts extending their sequence. Spurs left crying injustice, after Robbie Keane's penalty appeals were rejected when the visitors were only one goal behind.
In truth, the tide had turned by then. It was the ping of Ledley King's hamstring three minutes into the second half that truly signalled that this game would be beyond Tottenham. By the end they had been buried as Didier Drogba, liberated from his marker's shackles, bulldozed them into submission. The Ivorian still tumbles to the ground too easily, but he is simply devastating when he builds up a head of steam and stays on his feet. Spurs, wounded at the heart of their defence, parted for him as the game slipped away. The cramp that curtailed the striker's afternoon was a blessing, though Tottenham had long since been bloodied and bruised.
Ancelotti said in the aftermath that his team could win key contests without their talismanic forward, pointing to the narrow success over Porto in midweek as evidence, though his anxiety as he awaits news on the forward's calftomorrow will betray the reality. The goal Drogba scored just after the hour, latching on to Ashley Cole's punt to out-pace and out-muscle Vedran Corluka and poke the ball around Carlo Cudicini before slamming it into the empty net, was his fifth of the league season. Yet his game cannot be measured purely in weight of goals.
Too many opponents shrink in his mere presence. King was not one of them – the strength the centre-half showed in holding off the forward towards the end of the first half brought a smile of admiration from Drogba – but Spurs' best defender could not suppress him on his own. The forward merely ventured wider on the field, to find the space and time to whip in the cross that Cole, sprinting, unnoticed, beyond the hapless Corluka at the far post, converted.
Once King had retreated, Tottenham only wilted. The substitute Alan Hutton seemed frozen in blind panic as Drogba cushioned Nicolas Anelka's cross on his chest and drew a save from Cudicini. Frank Lampard reacted from the rebound, dragging the ball back for Michael Ballack to bundle it into the unguarded net.
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Independent:
Drogba unleashed to halt Spurs' progress
Chelsea 3 Tottenham Hotspur 0
By Glenn Moore
This derby may have lacked the drama of Manchester's but it was notably more conclusive. "Tottenham are back" rang around Stamford Bridge at the end but the chant was gloatingly ironic. This has been a sobering nine days for Spurs, their opening burst of four victories followed by successive defeats to "Big Four" clubs with three goals conceded in each. And, with Ledley King and Sébastien Bassong departing with injuries yesterday, making a quartet of lame centre-halves at the club, their defensive insecurities will continue.
For Chelsea, however, it was confirmation that Carlo Ancelotti's low-key arrival could have high-profile results. The Premier League leaders took a while to come to terms with Spurs' formation, and were fortunate to survive a strong penalty appeal at 1-0, but their class and strength won through.
Didier Drogba epitomized both elements and none of the Spurs defenders came to terms with him. His Champions League ban has had the unintended benefit for Chelsea of rendering Drogba fresh for the domestic programme and he set about Spurs' defence with gusto, making the first two goals and scoring the third. However, he then limped off after a mis-hit shot. Ancelotti said it was a calf problem which he hoped was "just cramp". Fortunately Chelsea's next major test is not until Liverpool visit on 4 October.
"We are very happy because we won a difficult, important game," added Ancelotti, who has surpervised the last six of this club record 11-match winning run.
For Redknapp the game swung on two incidents early in the second half, King's exit and Robbie Keane's denied spot-kick. "Ledley's going was a big turning point for us," the Spurs manager said. "Once we lost him there was no way we could deal with Drogba. He's too strong, too powerful." As for the penalty Redknapp, whose ire was aggravated by the memory of Howard Webb wrongly giving a match-changing penalty against Spurs at Old Trafford last spring, said: "If Robbie goes down at first contact it's nailed on, but he tried to keep his feet. He's too honest really. If [the referee] felt he dived, why not give him a yellow card?"
Redknapp's disappointment at the result was compounded by the hope engendered by his side's bright start. He went with a tight midfield three, to counter Chelsea's diamond midfield, with an equally narrow attack which featured Aaron Lennon and Keane buzzing around behind Jermain Defoe. "We caused them problems with our movement and were much the better team for the first half-hour," said Redknapp. However, packing central midfield left a lot of space on the flanks which Jose Bosingwa, who crashed a shot against the bar in the seventh minute, and Ashley Cole utilised.
Chelsea's front men also went wide at every opportunity and the tactic brought reward in the 32nd minute. The home side worked an overload on the right and Drogba delivered an excellent, deep cross which Cole, sneaking in on Vedran Corluka's blind side, headed in at the far post.
It was a grievous blow to a Tottenham side which should have been ahead. Wilson Palacios split the Chelsea defence after 11 minutes to send Defoe clear but the in-form striker's shot hit the outstretched leg of Petr Cech. The keeper then scrambled away a deflected Palacios drive before watching Jermaine Jenas whistle a shot wide. At this point Michael Essien looked lost but he, and Chelsea, adjusted to Spurs' shape and Cole's goal was not a surprise.
Nevertheless, the match seemed in the balance at the break. Then King, soon after the resumption, turned with Drogba to chase a through ball but crumpled to the ground. As he limped off Redknapp, he revealed later, turned to his assistant Kevin Bond and said, "We're in trouble now." He was right, but not before Spurs had one last glimmer of hope. Keane wriggled in to the area before appearing to be tripped by Ricardo Carvalho. Webb, who was close but poorly sighted, waved play on. Keane, furious, demanded to be booked for diving. It was an example of where one of Michel Platini's additional assistant referees might have seen the offence, but only if he was on that side of the goal, and even then it was not clear-cut.
Soon after Nicolas Anelka ran off Palacios to collect a ball down the line and crossed. Drogba held off Hutton and though Carlo Cudicini parried, Frank Lampard, reacting quicker than Corluka or Bassong, squared for Michael Ballack to score. Then Drogba muscled Corluka aside for the third and it could have become a rout.
Chelsea (4-1-2-1-2): Cech; Bosingwa, Carvalho, Terry, A Cole; Essien; Ballack (Mikel, 61), Malouda; Lampard; Anelka (Borini, 88), Drogba (Kalou, 83). Substitutes not used: Hilario (gk), Ivanovic, Belletti, Hutchinson.
Tottenham (4-3-2-1): Cudicini; Corluka, King (Hutton, 48), Bassong (Kranjcar, 79), Assou-Ekotto; Jenas, Huddlestone, Palacios; Lennon, Defoe (Crouch, 67); Keane.
Substitutes not used: Gomes (gk), Bentley, Naughton, Giovani.
Referee H Webb (S Yorkshire).
Booked: Tottenham Bassong, Jenas.
Man of the match: Drogba
Attendance: 41,623
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Mail:
Chelsea 3 Tottenham Hotspur 0:Blues make class tell as suffering Spurs left behind at Stamford Bridge
By Ivan Speck
Nine days ago, Chelsea and Tottenham stood proudly arm-in-arm in perfection atop the Barclays Premier League.
By late afternoon yesterday, as the sun set on Stamford Bridge and John Terry cavorted playfully on the pitch with his young twins Georgie and Summer - in Chelsea kits both with their names proudly emblazoned on the back, a world of ambition separated the clubs.
Chelsea, fortified by Terry's steel, energised by Frank Lampard's persistence and electrified by the effervescent Didier Drogba, know that summit meetings with Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal during the two coming months will define the significance of their unbeaten start.
Tottenham, on the other hand, must now fight to convince their supporters that the dazzling form of August was not another cruel mirage.
What is more, they must almost certainly do so without any of the four recognised central defenders on their books after losing both Ledley King and Sebastien Bassong to injury during a second half that became a slide into oblivion as a tiny gap between the sides became a yawning chasm.Clearly, the secrets they have learned at White Hart Lane of how to beat Chelsea in recent seasons do not apply at Stamford Bridge, and on this evidence their miserable record of not having won there since 1990 will continue for some time.
The paradox that this match presented was that for half an hour Spurs offered the more potent threat.
Harry Redknapp sprang a surprise by releasing Aaron Lennon into a roving role behind Robbie Keane and Jermain Defoe, and Chelsea's defenders didn't quite know whether to follow the England winger from flank to flank or to try to manage more the gaps he was creating.A case in point arrived after 15 minutes. Lennon drifted over to the left, picking up the ball in space. As he threatened an angled run, Ricardo Carvalho stood off him, so Lennon simply stroked the ball easily into the path of Jermaine Jenas, whose scorching drive flew inches wide.
The trouble was that, while Tottenham's peaks were spiky, they were also isolated. Too often the front trio were despatched upfield with little support.
Chelsea, by contrast, moved as a unit, one whose powerful insistence could eventually no longer be contained.
If the opening 32 minutes brought only a rasping 20-yard Jose Bosingwa shot which struck the junction of post and bar and rebounded to safety, their next attack was clinical.
Drogba curled a diagonal low cross in at pace from the right. Vedran Corluka, who endured a torrid afternoon, lost his bearings at the far post and Ashley Cole suddenly darted in front of the Croat, stooped and conquered with a diving header little more than eight inches above the turf.
True, it required the majestic Michael Essien to perform a surgically precise tackle at high speed to prise the ball out from under Lennon's feet as the free spirit attacked the Chelsea rearguard at full speed six minutes before halftime.
And, the home support also held its collective breath nine minutes after the interval when Keane stumbled under a Carvalho challenge in the area, but Chelsea, you felt, had been released.It was unclear how much contact was made by Carvalho on Keane - there was some - but within three minutes the game was over.
Nicolas Anelka's deep cross was cushioned with impish precision on the chest of Drogba, whose shot on the swivel caused Carlo Cudicini to push away for a corner.
Except that, sensing the opportunity, Lampard wrapped his foot around the ball before it went out and squared it back across an empty goalmouth for the incoming Michael Ballack to steer home.
Defeat turned to embarrassment in the 63rd minute. A ball over the top found the galloping Drogba outpacing the wooden Corluka once more.
Drogba cut across his man and as the two converged and were met by the onrushing Cudicini, the ball popped out to the side, allowing Drogba to scoot around the keeper and side-foot the ball gleefully over the line.
The only question that remained was the margin of Chelsea's win. A Jon Mikel Obi volley squirmed under Cudicini, who somehow managed to shovel it out for a corner.
By the time Mikel's fellow substitute, Salomon Kalou, burst into the box in the 88th minute and struck a Tottenham post, the ball cannoning back against the hapless keeper, Cudicini would have been forgiven for questioning the wisdom of emerging from the sanctuary of Chelsea's reserves to try his luck at a starting role elsewhere.
Tottenham's misery, which had been compounded by King limping off three minutes into the second half and then the sorry sight of Bassong being stretchered off in clear distress, a brace around his neck, following an awkward tussle with Anelka, was completed six minutes into injury time.
Substitute Peter Crouch rounded Peter Cech and rolled home only for an offside flag to halt even the meekest of Tottenham celebrations. The division between the sides, it appears, remains unbridged.
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Sun:
Chelsea 3 Spurs 0
IAN McGARRY at Stamford Bridge
AFTER the mayhem came the master-class.
Old Trafford may have been the place for thrills yesterday but Stamford Bridge remains a fortress.
Chelsea's demolition of Spurs did not have the drama of the Manchester derby but it starred the country's best team.
Six wins out of six. Eleven consecutive Premier League victories stretching back to last season which beats the club record set by Jose Mourinho's title-winning side in 2005.
A perfect start by a team that is beginning to make flawless look easy.
Tottenham's second league defeat in a week - the other to United - has put them back in their place as title also-rans.
The fact Spurs have failed to beat any of the Big Four in 64 attempts on the road says it all.
Chelsea, on the other hand, continue to enhance their image as the team to wrest the crown from Alex Ferguson's side.
They were simply devastating. Having soaked up 20 minutes of pressure the response was a killer.
Didier Drogba turned from poacher to provider and whipped in a cross that saw Ashley Cole dive at the back post to head the opener.
And despite Harry Redknapp's side having tested Chelsea in all areas until then, the contest was over.
Redknapp complained bitterly that Robbie Keane should have had a penalty nine minutes into the second half but the claim was more doubtful than the outcome.
Four minutes after that, Michael Ballack tapped in to make absolutely sure of the three points.
Spurs boss Redknapp admitted the loss of centre-half Ledley King with a hamstring injury left them at the mercy of the Drog.
And he was not wrong. King was already on the physio's table when Ivory Coast skipper Drogba took Nicolas Anelka's cross on his chest.
His control allowed him to volley at ex-Chelsea keeper Carlo Cudicini, who could only parry the ball into the path of Frank Lampard.
A simple centre to Ballack put Chelsea 2-0 up but the players ran to Drogba and Lamps to celebrate.
Then Cole dinked a hopeful ball into the inside-left channel on 63 minutes which Drogba chased like his life depended on catching it.
Vedran Corluka - woefully standing in at centre-half - tried to tackle him but only succeeded in knocking the ball round Cudicini.
Drogba followed the same path and swept the ball into an empty net to complete the rout.
The scoreline, though, was a bit harsh on the visitors. After confronting United with a three-pronged attack, Redknapp matched Chelsea with a diamond midfield yesterday.
Aaron Lennon was given licence to float on either flank and hover behind Jermain Defoe to make a nuisance of himself.
The ploy worked well enough to set up chances for Tom Huddlestone and Jermaine Jenas in the opening exchanges which had Petr Cech scrambling.
It was Michael Essien who made the real difference when he gave a lesson in the lost art of the tackle.
Paul Scholes is rightly considered the finest passer in English football over the past decade but his careless lunging at White Hart Lane last weekend saw him sent off.
United boss Ferguson could do worse than sit Scholes down in front of a DVD of Essien's 40th-minute challenge on Lennon.
He tracked the Spurs winger for 30 yards before stretching perfectly with his right boot to spoon the ball away and collect possession.
Lennon's momentum saw him tumble and his team-mates appealed for a penalty. Not a bit of it. It was the perfect challenge.
The same cannot be said of Ricardo Carvalho's on Keane but the reaction of the Spurs skipper led to justice, regardless of the claims.
Carvalho did make contact but Keane initially stayed on his feet before tumbling like a stuntman.
Ref Howard Webb waved away the appeals and even refused to book Keane for diving - despite his insistence he should get one if there was no foul.
All of this, however, was an example of wasted energy from Spurs.
Even Peter Crouch's introduction had little effect outside of him straying offside in injury-time to score a goal that never was.
Chelsea are top of the league, a 100 per cent record and playing well - who could ask for more?
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