Chelsea delivers Justice for Liverpool as Spurs face Karma

Chelsea won the game but Liverpool fans were the ones who got closure after Chelsea’s humbling of Tottenham Hotspur.

Karma or a classic Monday night premier league football? It will be hard to tell but Tottenham Hotspur vs. Chelsea sure delivered the derby it promised fans, and even a little too much excitement for neutrals.

It was heavy metal football and VAR magic on display as both London teams faced off for a chance to claim all 3 points at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, with Michael Oliver having quite a lot of work to do on the pitch as referee.

The Lilywhites had raced into an early shortly after kickoff via a Dejan Kulusevski opener to keep Spurs’ hopes for a title challenge and unbeaten run waving high. However, as a typical premier league game would go, this London derby wasn’t to end without a controversy.

Reminiscent of the tie between Tottenham and Liverpool on the same ground, VAR decisions came repeatedly into play, first denying Heung Min-Son a goal after the Japan international thought he had doubled Spurs’ lead in the game.

Minutes later, Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling thought he had leveled the tie after a well placed perfect finish just to have the VAR check rule it off for an offside.

The Blues would go on to net another via Moises Caicedo who thought he had opened his account for Chelsea with his first goal for the team, yet again to be ruled off for offside.

But as controversial as the decision to rule the goal off was, opportunity provided itself in the lead up to the goal to gift the Blues a double advantage thanks to a foul in the box by Tottenham defender, Cristian Romero to hand Chelsea a penalty and a one-man advantage following a straight red card.

The foul all too reminiscent of the one given against Liverpool’s Curtis Jones left no one complaining as the Argentine went off to leave Tottenham down to 10-men.

Being a man down to a raging Chelsea side didn’t look to be the only Karma Spurs would face on the night as yet again the North London club went down to 9-men after defender, Destiny Udogie picked up a second yellow in the second half.

Without VAR, a lot of goals could have been scored on the night, with both Chelsea and Spurs having a goal chalked off in periods of the second half.

But what the Video Assistant Referee could not deny on the night was a hungry Nicolas Jackson who went to Spurs looking for blood.

Blood he found, and red it came as he netted a hattrick to hand Chelsea a 1-4 victory on a platter on the night. A win for the Blues and ‘resolution’ for an aggrieved Liverpool support base who weren’t shy to take on to social media to celebrate Tottenham Hotspur’s humiliation.

The London derby was a Monday night classic, and why the Premier League continues to be ever entertaining. Chelsea won 1-4 but the tie could very well have ended with a 3-6 score line if not for VAR intervention in the least.

Mauricio Pochettino’s return to Tottenham was memorable but not for Spurs.