Tottenham 4-0

Independent:

Chelsea 4 Tottenham 0
Samuel Eto’o stoops to conquer sorry Spurs
Striker has cheeky dig at Mourinho after his goal sparks a rout aided by Kaboul’s harsh dismissal

By MIGUEL DELANEY

Old habits lived strong at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea claimed yet another win over Tottenham at home, Tim Sherwood’s side conspired to characteristically gift them those points, and Samuel Eto’o set it all up with an opportunistic opening strike that recalled his best form and produced a joke about his age.
The end product of all that, meanwhile, is something else we have become well accustomed to over the past decade: a Jose Mourinho team increasing their lead at the top of a League table.
The Portuguese stated that “objective number one, top four, is in our hands” but still would not move on from down-playing the title challenge. “Now let’s go for objective number two, top three with direct Champions’ League qualification.”
Mourinho even insisted that he would still rather be in Manchester City’s situation due to their goal difference, despite the fact Chelsea are nine points clear of them, albeit with three games more played.
“If they win the matches, they’re top of the League. If you win the next nine matches, we may not be champions. If we win nine matches, maybe we are not champions. If City win the 12 matches they have, they’re champions. They have the destiny in their own hands. I would prefer to have destiny in my own hands.”
Sherwood was much more critical of the manner in which his team surrendered to their supposedly eternal fate at this stadium. “Too often, and again today, against the big sides [we cave in]. We were 2-0 down with 10 men at Chelsea, you’re not going to win the game. But you want to see a bit more pride, a bit more clever.
“I don’t want to be the only one who shouts at them. They need to sort it out themselves sometimes among themselves. Massively disappointed. Not too much about the result and the performance in the first half, but on the capitulation that the team showed, and showed too often this season.”
The capitulation is not the only aspect of the game that should have irritated Sherwood. There was also the fact that, for almost all of the first 55 minutes, it seemed like Spurs had finally set up the best possible chance to claim a first victory at Stamford Bridge in 24 years. Although Sherwood’s initial formation raised eyebrows, it resulted in Spurs greatly raising their game and enjoying the better of the match. That is why the eventual defeat will have been so galling. Even 10 minutes into the second half, this was not a vintage Mourinho transformation as in last week’s 3-1 win at Fulham.
By that point, however, we had at least seen some vintage Eto’o again – with the mischievous celebration to match. Although the forward had remained on the fringes of the contest, he was suddenly played right into front and centre by an atrocious Jan Vertonghen backpass.
Never one to waste an opportunity like that, regardless of where he was in his career, Eto’o bore down on Hugo Lloris and slotted the ball between the Tottenham goakeeper’s legs. Afterwards, the forward, using the corner flag as a walking stick, mimicked a hip problem, to mock all the recent controversy about his age, that had been prompted by remarks made by his manager.
Mourinho smiled about it. “I didn’t suggest it but we knew it,” the Chelsea manager said. “We knew it. We thought it was more than fine. The best way to diffuse the situation is to make fun of a funny situation, so it was good. Some newspapers did great with photoshop. Now they don’t need photoshop.”
Given the way the game was going, Chelsea probably did not strictly need a referee error in their favour at that point either, but they got two. Eto’o went over easily in the box after minimal contact from Younes Kaboul, a harsh penalty was awarded, and the Spurs defender received an even harsher red card.
Sherwood put it all in his own inimitable way. “It all went Pete Tong after the goal. Anyone can slip up. I appreciate the referees have a very tough job, but that one went against us. I think it’s a soft decision. I think it’s not a penalty. It’s a shame the referee didn’t get the chance to look at it again.”
Mourinho had no sympathy. “I didn’t watch, so I cannot really comment for good or bad,” he said of the decision. “But I complain with referees during all my career, now less, but I’ve always done it, but never when I’ve lost 4-0. When you lose 4-0, you go home and do not complain about the ref.”
That was the ultimate consequence of that penalty, which Sherwood found so frustrating: complete collapse. Hazard stroked the ball into the centre of the net from the spot, and it was always going to take much more than a tactical  masterstroke from Sherwood to overturn that. Instead, substitute Demba Ba turned in the third and fourth goals in the dying stages. Old trends lived on.

Chelsea: Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Matic, Ramires, Lampard (Oscar 45;); Hazard, Schurrle (Willian 66); Eto’o (Ba 86 7).
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris; Naughton, Dawson (Fryers 72), Kaboul, Vertonghen; Sandro, Bentaleb; Walker, Lennon, Sigurdsson (Paulinho 61); Adebayor.
Referee: Michael Oliver

Match rating: 6/10
Man of the match: Cesar Azpilicueta

==============

Observer:

Chelsea 4 Spurs 0
Chelsea's Ba and Eto'o capitalise on Tottenham blunders to extend lead
Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea's title pursuit has taken on a relentless feel, their advantage at the top now gaping at seven points from a pack increasingly, perhaps perilously, pinning their hopes on winning games in hand. Emerging from thunderous contests such as this with victories so emphatic will only fuel conviction within this team, while deflating that of the others. This ended up as a thrashing.
Tottenham's wounds were admittedly all self-inflicted here, their display disintegrating into a series of mind-boggling errors in the last half-hour as if playing down to their wretched record in these parts, but Chelsea were still eager to capitalise. Demba Ba registered his late brace almost in disbelief, the visitors gifting him each reward while the home support pinched themselves at the simplicity of it all.
"After the first, complete control," said José Mourinho. "Easy: easy to pass, easy to control, easy for our supporters to enjoy, easy for me to be calm." He continues to insist the title is Manchester City's to lose: Manuel Pellegrini's team are now nine points behind in fourth with three games in hand, but each Chelsea victory heaps pressure on the challengers. There is no leeway for City any more, with the leaders unbeaten in the league in 14 matches stretching back to early December. They prevail even when they lose players in the warm-up these days. Fernando Torres tweaked his groin and hobbled away before kick-off, though Samuel Eto'o and Ba, the men who replaced him, scored three between them.
They were grateful for Spurs' generosity on that front. A team that had been constructed to compete vigorously, with Kyles Walker and Naughton doubling up on Eden Hazard down one flank and tacklers snapping into challenges aggressively in the centre, could take heart from a scoreless first half in which Chelsea had been frustrated, even nullified, if "not scared" according to Mourinho. The tactics may have appeared random, a "lucky dip" in terms of selection according to Gary Lineker, with Walker on the wing and Aaron Lennon cast as the playmaker, but they largely worked. Yet the manner in which Spurs wilted at the first hint of a game of catch-up undermined everything that had gone on before.
The mistakes by Jan Vertonghen and Walker for the first and fourth goals in particular defied belief, Sandro's clumsiness contributing to the hosts' third, with Younès Kaboul dismissed for conceding the penalty that provided the second. The French centre-half will miss next Sunday's derby against Arsenal, and Michael Dawson also hobbled out of this defeat early. Tim Sherwood has Benfica in the Europa League before then and resorted to asking journalists in his post-match press conference where they played as he seeks to make up the numbers. Normally that might have been said in mirth, but his mood had long since darkened by then.
It was the manner of Tottenham's capitulation that disturbed. The hour mark was approaching when Vertonghen, never entirely content at left-back, ambled on to possession only to slip as André Schürrle closed him down. That was slack, but the Belgian's worst error was to hook the ball back, while grounded, towards the centre with his right foot, his attempt to retain possession transformed into a perfect through-ball for Eto'o. The striker eased his finish beyond Hugo Lloris as Dawson slid in, then celebrated by staggering towards the corner flag holding his back, bent double at his ripe old age. Whether 32 or 35, as Mourinho had pondered out loud while unknowingly being filmed by Canal Plus, the Cameroonian is still a timely finisher.
"The best way to defuse the situation is to make fun, so it was a good [celebration]," said Mourinho. It is actually the veteran's birthday on Monday and he may still be celebrating this victory then. Spurs' composure drained with the concession, the referee Michael Oliver deeming Kaboul's faint grab at Eto'o, as the striker attempted to reach Hazard's delivery, worthy of a penalty and a dismissal. The Frenchman was apoplectic, his manager dumbfounded. Hazard's finish from the spot was merely emphatic.
Sandro, exposed as a makeshift centre-half, presented a loose ball to Ba in the six-yard box for the third before the most comical of the quartet of goals arrived in the final minute. Lloris's clearance was headed back towards the goalkeeper by Walker, with Ba stealing in to collect and convert. Sherwood sank into his seat as the net bulged, his own club's thoughts of a top-four finish in tatters, with the gap at four points but City have those three matches in hand.
Spurs' former technical co-ordinator is likely to play out the rest of the campaign with Louis van Gaal's name on everybody's lips as his successor-in-waiting. For Chelsea, success of a different kind may lie ahead.

======================

Telegraph:

Chelsea 4 Tottenham Hotspur 0
Ben Rumsby

Samuel Eto’o rolled back who knows how many years to putChelsea seven points clear at the top of the Premier League and make Jose Mourinho eat his words for what may not be the last time this season.
Eto’o turns 33 on Monday – or maybe 36 if Mourinho is to be believed – but he looked to be still in his prime after answering an SOS moments before kick-off and sealing victory with a goal and an assist for Eden Hazard’s penalty.
And the Cameroonian could not resist mocking his manager’s recent – supposedly off-camera – jibe about how old he really was, celebrating his 300th career goal by clutching the corner flag with one hand and his back with the other to simulate a pensioner and his walking stick.
“The best way to defuse the situation is to make fun of a funny situation, so it was good,” smiled Mourinho, recalling the doctored photographs of Eto’o which appeared in the wake of the manager’s criticism two weeks ago. “Some newspapers did great with Photoshop. Now they don’t need Photoshop. They have the real pic.”
Mourinho even suggested Eto’o could emulate Ryan Giggs by playing until the age of 40 after watching him use all his experience to punish a second-half Spurs display so inept that it may have torpedoed Tim Sherwood’s hopes of keeping his job as manager beyond the summer. Following a first half in which they threatened to end their 24-year wait for a win at Stamford Bridge, they gift-wrapped all four of Chelsea’s goals, including a late brace for substitute Demba Ba.
Mourinho summed it all up in one word: “Easy. Easy to pass, easy to control, easy for our supporters to enjoy, easy for me to be calm.”
In the world of Mourinho, the win kept Chelsea behind Manchester City on goal difference. But, at this rate, City will have to win all their remaining games to overhaul a side for whom the championship is looking more theirs to lose by the week.
The components of a title-winning side appeared in place: a largely settled back four, an immovable-object midfielder in Nemanja Matic and an irresistible attacking force in Eden Hazard.
There are options from the bench as well – although Chelsea would not have been expecting to call upon one before kick-off, Fernando Torres replaced by Eto’o after hurting himself in the warm-up.
Spurs, who were playing a radical system which involved Kyle Walker marauding forward from midfield, were playing a dangerous game with their high defensive line. But they began to justify Sherwood’s funky formation when Nabil Bentaleb screwed a shot harmlessly wide and a brilliant left-foot volley by Sandro forced a smart save from Petr Cech.
As Chelsea laboured towards half-time, Frank Lampard went right through the back of Sandro two-footed, his reputation perhaps ensuring yellow was the colour of the card produced by Michael Oliver. That was Lampard’s final act as Mourinho sent for Oscar for the second half, dropping Ramires back into midfield, but Spurs had the first chance after the break, Younes Kaboul nodding Gylfi Sigurdsson’s corner at Cech.
But then disaster struck. Two bookings in less than a minute did not bode well, Kyle Naughton for checking Hazard and Sandro for scything down Branislav Ivanovic. That was nothing to compared to the calamities which followed, Jan Vertonghen slipping over under pressure from Andre Schurrle and inexplicably raking the ball square for Eto’o to race onto and stroke through the legs of Hugo Lloris.
Four minutes later, a superb pass from the imperious John Terry – who confirmed once and for all after the game that his England days were over – found Hazard, whose cross Eto’o was denied reaching by a push in the back from Kaboul.
In the week Uefa failed to abolish the triple punishment, the inevitable followed: penalty, red card and suspension. Hazard piled on the pain from the spot.
Eto’o was given a well-earned rest for the final 14 minutes, during which Oscar should have made it 3-0 when he skied a pass from fellow substitute Willian. But Spurs appeared determined to help their rivals improve a goal difference that could prove decisive in the final analysis.
First, Sandro slipped trying to clear Oscar’s cutback, giving Ba the easiest of finishes; then, Walker headed the ball back to Lloris, failing to spot the lurking Ba, who rounded the keeper to tap home.

Match details
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech 7; Ivanovic 7, Cahill 7, Terry 8, Azpilicueta 6; Matic 7, Lampard 5 (Oscar h-t); Ramires 6, Hazard 7, Schurrle (Willian 66) 7; Eto’o 8 (Ba 76). Subs Schwarzer (g), Kalas, Mikel, Salah.
Booked: Lampard, Azpilicueta.

Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1):Lloris 7; Naughton 6, Dawson (Fryers 72) 6, Kaboul 5, Vertonghen 5; Bentaleb 6, Sandro 6; Walker 7, Lennon 6, Sigurdsson 6 (Paulinho 61); Adebayor 7.
Subs: Friedel (g), Chadli, Townsend, Kane, Soldado.
Booked: Bentaleb, Naughton, Sandro.
Sent off: Kaboul.

Referee: M Oliver (Northumberland).

===============

Times:

Chelsea 4 Tottenham 0: Spurs pay for mistakes

Jonathan Northcroft

PREMEDITATED goal celebrations are sometimes cringeworthy, but this wasn’t bad. Samuel Eto’o sprinted to the corner flag then suddenly hobbled, put his hand on his hip and bent double, as if he were a frail and crooked pensioner.
Jose Mourinho said he knew it was coming. Mourinho, of course, was inadvertently caught in a television recording questioning Eto’o’s age — his passport claims he turns 33 tomorrow and Mourinho suggested he might be older. And all season we’ve been musing how Eto’o is still good, but no longer the great he was. So what, the Cameroonian was saying — I’m an old man but I’m still the man. “The best way to diffuse things is to make fun of a funny situation,” Mourinho said.
Eto’o has a point. He has only been able to play in bursts for Chelsea, but what bursts. The striker’s surge of sudden influence upon this game turned it completely in Chelsea’s favour and prompted a collapse by Tottenham - “capitulation,” a seething Tim Sherwood called it. 4-0 was a remarkable scoreline, for at 0-0, with 56 minutes gone, Spurs were playing well enough to feed hopes of a first win at Stamford Bridge since 1990, 27 visits and 15 managers ago.
When he left the pitch, at 2-0, Eto’o’s fist was aloft like that of a champion boxer after a successful bout. He has won leagues in Spain and Italy and an English winner’s medal is on, with Chelsea now seven points clear at the top and nine points ahead of Manchester City. Mourinho persisted with his claim that City are still in the best position, given their superior goal difference and three games in hand. “I’d rather be them,” he said and warbled about securing “objective No 1,” top-four status – but he fooled nobody.
No wonder Sherwood was pained. His defenders, especially, threw it away. The normally composed Jan Vertonghen lost concentration, trying to control a pass with the inside of his heel. The touch was poor, Andre Schurrle pressed, Vertonghen slipped and panicked. While going down he knocked an aimless pass towards his central defenders but Eto’o seized it and remained calm, stroking a finish through the legs of Hugo Lloris from 18 yards. It was Eto’o’s 300th career goal and while it was only his seventh in the Premier League, it was his fifth – following a hat-trick versus Manchester United and strike against Liverpool – for Chelsea against major opponents.
One down became two down quickly for Spurs. After turning over possession and springing into attack, the way Mourinho teams do, Chelsea went down the left and Eden Hazard centred. Eto’o arrived just ahead of Younes Kaboul and was clever to keep his body between Kaboul and the ball. Kaboul leant in just enough for Eto’o to justify going over. Michael Oliver signaled the penalty and, regretfully, showed a red card, making Kaboul the latest victim of football’s ‘triple jeopardy’ anomaly. Hazard buried the spot-kick. “A soft sending off and not a penalty,” Sherwood said. Mourinho sniffed: “I complain about refs all my career, less now, but never when I lost 4-0.”
They say good managers also need to be lucky ones. Eto’o was only playing because Fernando Torres hurt his groin in the warm-up.
How Spurs went to pieces. Eto’o’s replacement was Demba Ba, who helped himself to two late goals after further defensive mishaps. At half-time Mourinho had introduced Oscar for a toiling Frank Lampard and after a cute exchange with Branislav Ivanovic, Oscar hared down the right and centred and Sandro slipped, leaving Ba to score through Lloris’ legs.
Then came craziness from Kyle Walker. Lloris cleared to him on the halfway line and, for reasons unknown, Walker headed the ball straight back where it came from. Lloris was stranded and Ba intercepted, passing into an unguarded net.
“Too often and again today we’ve capitulated against the big sides. I don’t want to be the only one who shouts at them, they need to dig each other out,” said Sherwood, admitting Spurs’ chances of the top four are now “slim.”
He had selected Aaron Lennon to play off and around Emmanuel Adebayor. Walker was in midfield and there was a fluidity and variety about Tottenham’s approach. Chelsea were uncomfortable for most of the first half but “they didn’t hurt us and when that happens you’re calm,” Mourinho said.
Hazard almost scored after four minutes after quick and clever passing by Schurrle and Eto’o played him behind Spurs’ back four. But despite rounding Lloris, Hazard shot wide. Nemanja Matic miscued a header from Lampard’s free kick and though Eto’o got into a shooting position following Nabil Bentaleb’s mistake, the angle was too difficult.
Spurs didn’t do enough with their early possession. In the 13th minute, when Gary Cahill committed himself to a jump with Adebayor and lost out, Bentaleb went into the box but his shot rolled well past Petr Cech’s far post. Sandro met a Cahill clearance with a beautiful left-footed volley but Cech, smartly, saved the dipping shot. Just after half-time Kaboul headed Gylfi Sigurdsson’s cross straight at Cech and Spurs were made to pay so brutally.
“We’re grinding out results like a Jose Mourinho team of old,” said John Terry. Vintage stuff – especially Eto’o.

Star man: Samuel Eto’o (Chelsea)

Chelsea: Cech 7, Ivanovic 7, Cahill 6, Terry 6, Azpilicueta 6, Ramires 6, Matic 6, Lampard 5 (Oscar h-t, 6), Hazard 7, Eto’o 8 (Ba 76min), Schurrle 6 (Willian 66min)
Tottenham: Lloris 6, Naughton 5, Dawson 6 (Fryers 72min), Kaboul 6, Vertonghen 4, Sandro 6, Bentaleb 6, Walker 4, Sigurdsson 6 (Paulinho 61min), Lennon 6, Adebayor 6

================

Mail:

Chelsea 4-0 Tottenham: Mourinho's relentless march towards the title continues as Spurs are shattered at the Bridge

By Joe Bernstein

When Jan Vertonghen gifted Chelsea their opening goal, the groans from Tottenham’s dugout would have been echoed in north London and the North-West.
There is less hope for Arsenal, Liverpool and even Manchester City to be champions. Chelsea lead the table by seven points and five of their next six opponents lie in the bottom half of the table.
‘Little Horse’ Mourinho can try to dampen expectations all he likes, but nobody is fooled. Chelsea are unbeaten in the League in 2014 and, as they showed on Saturday, once in front they are utterly ruthless.
For 56 minutes, the game plan set out by Tim Sherwood and Spurs to stifle Chelsea, with Kyle Walker surprisingly used as a winger and Aaron Lennon at No 10, had worked.
Then came Vertonghen’s double folly. First, the Belgian slipped as he tried to turn inside to stop Andre Schurrle closing him down. Then, in a desperate attempt to retrieve the situation, he stuck out a leg and succeeded only in playing the perfect pass for Samuel Eto’o.
The Cameroon striker, drafted into in the starting line-up minutes before kick-off when Fernando Torres injured his groin in the warm-up, finished easily.
His ‘old man’ celebration, poking fun at Mourinho’s recent comments questioning his official age of 32, lifted the atmosphere and transformed a close game into a Chelsea romp.
Spurs manager Sherwood, who refused to bite at Gary Lineker’s suggestion that he’d named a  ‘pick ’n’ mix line-up’, was peeved at referee Michael Oliver for giving a spot-kick after a tangle between Eto’o and Younes Kaboul.
But he saved most of his anger for his own players and their meek surrender after playing so well for an hour. ‘We have capitulated too often and again today,’ he said.
‘It is disappointing to see: 2-0 down to Chelsea you are not going to win the game, but you expect to see a little bit more gut and a little bit of feather-rustling.
I don’t want to be the only one who shouts at them (the players). I think they need to dig each other out. I am gutted, not about the result but on the capitulation the team have shown this season.’
Of Tottenham’s top-four hopes now, he replied: ‘Slim.’ He added: ‘It all went Pete Tong (wrong) after the first goal. I appreciate referees have a tough job and have to make a tough call but it could well have gone against us. I think it is a soft decision because I didn’t think it was a penalty.’
Interestingly, Sherwood believes City can still pip Chelsea and deny Mourinho a third Premier League title because of their extra firepower.
Less plausible was Mourinho’s assertion that he would rather be in City’s position — nine points behind Chelsea but with three games in hand and a superior goal difference.
‘If they win all their matches, they are champions. We can’t say the same so I would prefer to be them,’ he said.
After a goalless first half, Mourinho the master tactician did it again, hauling off Frank Lampard, who had been booked, and introducing Oscar, who narrowed the gaps between defence and attack.
The manager said: ‘We can say the first goal was a mistake but the way Eto’o read it was fantastic. After that, it was easy to  pass, easy to control, easy for me to be calm.’
Until Vertonghen’s blunder, Stamford Bridge was getting edgy as the fans feared a repeat of the 0-0 draw against West Ham in January, although on this occasion Spurs could not be accused of ‘19th-century tactics’ with Sandro and Kaboul forcing Petr Cech into good saves.
The fine finish from Eto’o between Hugo Lloris’s legs opened the floodgates however.
Just four minutes later, Kaboul felt aggrieved to be shown a red card though Eto’o had got goalside of him and there seemed to be contact.
Eden Hazard planted the penalty down the middle and Mourinho had little sympathy for Spurs. ‘I have complained about referees before, as you know, but not when I lost 4-0. It has to be more than that,’ he said.
With Sandro being used as an emergency centre-half and other players still in unfamiliar positions, it was little surprise when Chelsea boosted their goal difference late on.
Substitute Demba Ba could not miss from four yards when Sandro fell in front of him. Even more bizarre was the final goal, Lloris and Walker attempting a ridiculous ‘one-two’ that fell kindly for the Senegal striker.

=====================

Mirror:

Chelsea 4-0 Tottenham: Blues run riot in second half to extend lead at top of Premier League

Anthony Cavane

When one of your star strikers is injured in the warm-up there is normally an air of trepidation in the stadium.
But Fernando Torres’ late withdrawal from the Chelsea side yesterday evening allowed Samuel Eto’o to start – and the former Barcelona and Inter Milan striker responded with a match-winning display.
Eto’o scored the opening goal and won a penalty – leading to a harsh sending-off for Younes Kaboul – as the Blues cashed in on some woeful Tottenham defending to open up a
seven-point gap between them and the chasing pack, who were inactive this weekend.
“I told Samuel that he would score – I thought it was his destiny,” said boss Jose Mourinho. “He is so clever in the way he reads the game.”
Manchester City might have three games in hand – and a superior goal difference – but there is no doubt that Mourinho’s men are in the driving seat.
He is still playing down Chelsea’s title chances but believes this win has virtually guaranteed them a top-four spot.
“That was our first objective and we have achieved that,” he said. ”Now we must guarantee a top-three place and automatic qualification for the champions League.”
Cameroon striker Eto’o was clearly not expecting to be involved in this game.
But as soon as he heard he was in, he grabbed what looked like smelling salts from the bench and started sniffing it. Fired up by this – and perhaps also by Mourinho’s loss of faith in his veteran and mocking comments about his age – Eto’o had one of his best games for the club.
Spurs did not deserve to lose by four goals but they couldn’t handle Eto’o in this crunch derby.
In the opening minutes he put through in-form winger Eden Hazard for a one-on-one with Hugo Lloris.
The Belgian might be in sensational form this season, playing a pivotal role in the Blues’ rise to the Premier League summit, but he missed a golden opportunity to net his 14th goal of the campaign.
Commendably he stayed on his feet after Lloris had steamed off his line – but could only hit the ball into the side netting. Chelsea then missed two half-chances when Nemanja Matic headed over the bar and Eto’o dragged a shot wide.
Frank Lampard, playing in his 400th league game for Chelsea, then fired in a fierce shot that was headed away by Michael Dawson.
Spurs made a bright start to the second half. First Jan Vertonghen’s cheeky chip over Petr Cech floated over the bar, then Kaboul headed a corner straight into the keeper’s hands. Cech also made a fine save to deny Sandro, whose volley looked destined for the net.
Spurs were looking comfortable on their bogey ground – they had not won at Stamford Bridge for 24 years – and might even have nicked that long-overdue win.
But in the space of a crazy five minutes they lost the plot and the Blues struck twice.
Vertonghen slipped and his attempt to pass back to Lloris fell nicely fell into the path of Eto’o who struck the ball into the far corner.
Then Eto’o went down in the box after contact with Kaboul and referee Michael Oliver pointed straight to the spot.
It looked a soft penalty and Kaboul hardly deserved to be sent off. But up stepped Hazard to send Lloris the wrong way – and it was game over.
With a few minutes remaining, two more appalling bits of defending by 10-man Spurs allowed Chelsea to finish the game with a barely believable scoreline.
Both goals were gifted to Demba Ba, who had come on for Eto’o. First Sandro slipped up, allowing the Senegal striker in to coolly slot the ball through Lloris’ legs (left).
Then Lloris cleared to Kyle Walker, who bizarrely decided to head the ball back towards his keeper – and Ba nipped in to complete Spurs boss Tim Sherwood’s misery.
Mourinho’s unbeaten home league record now stands at

75 games. His Chelsea have also picked up more points at home than any other Premier League side this season.
Mourinho had challenged Sherwood before the game to show he wanted the Spurs job long term. But Sherwood’s position beyond the summer is surely in doubt despite having signed an 18-month contract in December.
It does not get any easier for his side who now face Arsenal and Liverpool in the Premier League and have a Europa League quarter-final against Benfica.

===================

Express:

Chelsea 4 - Tottenham 0: Little horse is galloping clear after Spurs' defensive disaster

Colin Mafham

SAMUEL ETO’O thought he was going to have an afternoon on the bench but ended up firing Chelsea seven points clear at the top of the Premier League.
He stepped up to the plate when Fernando Torres pulled up in the pre-match warm-up to defy all the talk that he might be getting a bit long in the tooth.
Depending on who you listen to, he could be anything between 31 and 39 years of age, but he rolled back the clock yesterday at precisely the right time for Chelsea.
Let’s be honest, Chelsea weren’t exactly looking like champions or four goals better than Spurs before Eto’o – with a little help from Lady Luck – came to their rescue.
And they are going to take some catching now. Seven points is a mighty big lead at this stage of the season.
All that apart, a small group outside the ground beforehand put things into perspective with placards urging Roman Abramovich not to back Russia in the Ukraine conflict.
He probably didn’t even know they were there, but it served to give a reminder that while 40,000 were enjoying a day out at Chelsea yesterday, a few million more were having to ponder their very existences elsewhere.
It’s probably fair to say that Spurs were doing something very similar when Eto’o put Eden Hazard clear early on, but uncharacteristically the Belgian put the ball into the sidenetting with the goal at his mercy.
A Chelsea goal then really would have put the cat among the pigeons because Spurs barely got out of their own half for the first 15 minutes.Jose Mourinho’s men clearly meant business. Yet, young Nabil Bentaleb had a few home hearts in mouths when Spurs did come out of their shell. A bit more accuracy with his shot might well have upset the applecart.
And when the midfielder went close with a rasping drive soon afterwards the Chelsea faithful got the message that this was not going to be a walk in the park after all.
With an imperious Michael Dawson begging the question of why does Roy Hodgson never pick him for England, Spurs settled into their stride sufficiently to knock Chelsea out of theirs for a while.
And while Emmanuel Adebayor was having an ever-increasing influence on proceedings, Andre Schurrle, a hat-trick hero for Chelsea just seven days ago, had a nightmare first 45 minutes yesterday.
Half-time probably couldn’t have come soon enough for the German – or his manager for that matter. You had to wonder how long Mourinho, who apparently gave his players a 30-second roasting last week, spent on his interval team talk this time.
Whatever he said, it still didn’t prevent Younes Kaboul testing Petr Cech soon after the restart. The second half did not look then as if it was going to be any easier for Chelsea than the first, especially as Schurrle didn’t appear to benefit from his cup of Bovril, or whatever, either.
Chelsea, Jose Mourinho, Gary Cahill, News, Champions League, Tottenham, Tim SherwoodJan Vertonghen's slip gifted Eto'o his first goal [GETTY]
But, as so often happens, it was a stroke of luck – or misfortune in the case of Jan Vertonghen – that broke the deadlock on 55 minutes. The big Belgian slipped under pressure and, in his desperation to retrieve the situation, he only succeeded in playing the ball straight into the path of Eto’o.
The Cameroonian didn’t need to be told what to do to score his 300th club goal in an already prolific career. He was there again three minutes later when Kaboul sent him sprawling right under the nose of referee Michael Oliver.
There was no hesitation about the penalty award. No doubting that Kaboul was going to be sent off. And there was no mistaking either the manner in which Hazard made it 2-0 from the spot.

================

Star:

Chelsea 4 - Tottenham 0: Samuel Eto'o shines as the Blues thump Spurs

By Harry Pratt

SAMUEL ETO’O has won league titles in both Spain and Italy.
Now the Cameroon ace, in the twilight of his glittering playing days, looks odds-on to add the Premier League trophy to that impressive haul.
Yesterday Eto’o scored the 300th goal of his career to put table-toppers Chelsea en route to their 20th league victory of the campaign.
Until the 56th minute strike from the ex-Barcelona and Inter Milan striker, Jose Mourinho’s Blues had struggled to break down gritty Tottenham.
For a long time it seemed the visitors might even end 24 years of failing to leave Stamford Bridge with three points.
Yet just three minutes later Younes Kaboul was sent off for a professional foul on Eto’o, Eden Hazard converted the resulting penalty and it was game over.
All this from a player who wasn’t even in the original starting line-up. Fernando Torres limped out injured to be replaced by Eto’o.
After his intervention there was even time for sub Demba Ba to make it a rout with a late double.
All of which leaves Mourinho’s troops a magnifi cent seven points clear of Arsenal and Liverpool, who have a game in hand – and NINE ahead of Man City who have three games in hand.
Yes, it might be an unrealistic picture at this moment, with too many ifs and buts to come.
But it’s hard to imagine a Jose Mourinho side chucking away such a big advantage.
Despite the fact that an in-hisprime Gary Lineker had been Tottenham’s last match-winner at this most inhospitable ground, Tim Sherwood’s men arrived in good heart – and form.
But the Spurs boss was furious afterwards.
“You can’t legislate for the capitulation,” he said.
“You can’t have that. You need to show a bit more guts and not want to be someone’s mate all the time.
They need to drag it out of each other. It hurts me and I won’t forget about this when we hit the motorway – but some might.
“It’s not a penalty and not a sending off but the game was finished after that. We’ve got the Europa League on Thursday and we owe the fans a performance.
We let them down again on the big occasion.”
Sherwood’s line-up was full of surprises and defensive players, including fit-again England rightback Kyle Walker in midfield.
That seemed a wise move early on when it was all Chelsea.
When Hazard found himself one on one with Hugo Lloris in the third minute, he seemed certain to score.
But on this occasion the brilliant Belgian had the Bridge faithful shaking their heads in disbelief.
For, having done the hard part of skipping around the French keeper, Hazard, with an open goal at his mercy, failed to keep his right-foot drive on target.
The look on Mourinho’s face said it all when turning away to mouth a few expletives at the glorious wasted chance.
His mood nearly nosedived a whole lot further ten minutes on when Spurs should have broken the deadlock.
The dangerous Emanuel Adebayor fed unmarked Gylfi Sigurdsson but the Icelandic ace was unable to test Petr Cech from ten yards out.
At half-time, there was no debate who was the happier manager.
Yet within 12 minutes of the second half, the pendulum had swung Mourinho’s way.
Firstly, Eto’o calmly stuck in his milestone strike, pouncing on Jan Vertongen’s weak backpass after the Belgian defender had slipped.
And then before Spurs had a chance to take stock they were two down when ref Michael Oliver awarded a penalty, judging that Kaboul had fouled Chelsea hitman Eto’o.
If a penalty, Kaboul’s dismissal was correct – but yet another example of why the treble jeopardy rule is rubbish.
The Brazilian’s challenge was neither dirty nor deliberate.

To be fair to Spurs they probably didn’t deserve that on the balance of play. But, let’s face it, they gifted Chelsea both those goals and you can’t afford to do that.
And if going two down and being reduced to 10 men wasn’t bad enough Spurs’ day got even worse when the inspirational Dawson limped off.
Then Demba Ba, a late substitute for Eto’o, rubbed salt in already painful Spurs wounds with two goals in two minutes at the death. And death really was the operative word here.

MAN OF MATCH: SAMUEL ETO’O – His two-goal intervention changed the whole course of the game.

CHELSEA: Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Ramires, Matic; Schurrle (Willian 65), Lampard (Oscar 45), Hazard; Eto’o (Ba 76).
TOTTENHAM: Lloris; Walker, Kaboul, Dawson (Fryers 71), Vertonghen,  aughton; Lennon, Bentaleb, Sandro, Sigurdsson; Adebayor