Tottenham midfielder Oliver Skipp was the scorer of the first goal, with a well-struck shot from the edge of the area. Harry Kane added the second from a flicked-on corner.

It was a measure of a game of few chances that those were two of Tottenham’s three efforts on target, while Chelsea managed two.

Cagey and at times feisty describes the goalless first half. The Blues made most of the play in front of a cautious Spurs set-up, although the home side hit the post with a deflected shot midway through while a saved Raheem Sterling shot close to half-time was the best effort by the visitors.

In an off-the-ball incident, it looked like we had lost Hakim Ziyech to a red card moments before the interval but having looked again on the screen, the referee changed the punishment to a yellow for a push into the shoulder of Emerson Royal, who was also booked.

Spurs then shocked us with their rapid start to the second half before holding firm in the face of Blues possession as we looked for an equaliser. Once the deficit was increased, a Chelsea recovery looked unlikely, leaving us six games without win.

The selection

Although Graham Potter made six changes from the last outing against Southampton, his line-up today showed plenty of similarity to the one that performed well in Dortmund in the previous game, albeit in a narrow defeat. The one difference from the starting 11 in Germany was fit-again Raheem Sterling, a second-half substitute against the Saints, preferred to Mykhailo Mudryk.

Tottenham keep it tight

Chelsea arrived in this corner of north London following the setback against Southampton. Opponents Tottenham began the day in the Premier League’s top four but themselves had patchy form recently, with a big defeat at Leicester preceding their home win over West Ham last weekend. Between those two results, Spurs mirrored Chelsea in returning from the first leg of their Champions League tie with a 1-0 deficit. While we had been in Dortmund, they were away to AC Milan.

In this Sunday lunchtime kick-off, there were early Chelsea claims for a foul in the Tottenham penalty area on Sterling but the chance of the perfect start to the game was denied. The officials remained uninterested in awarding a penalty.

Hoping for a repeat of the goal the last time we were away from home in the capital city, Enzo Fernandez tried a lofted pass seeking out Joao Felix in front of goal, as he had at West Ham, and was not too far away from succeeding as the Blues bossed the ball in the opening minutes.

However after the bright start came a Chelsea setback a quarter-of-an-hour in. When Thiago Silva made an important challenge as Harry Kane headed towards goal, the England and Spurs captain landed on the Brazil skipper’s leg, requiring treatment. Thiago tried to continue but in the end was replaced by Wesley Fofana, shortly after Joao Felix had seen the game’s first shot on target saved.

The Blues continued to play the ball around crisply, with Spurs seemingly content to sit tight and wait for an opportunity to break.

A more sustained attack led to the home side hitting the post with 26 minutes on the clock. It was Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg with the shot that was destined to test Kepa before Fofana made what proved to be a telling contribution, stretching and diverting the ball onto the Blues upright.

A sprinkle of London derby spice was added to the occasion when Kane barged Kepa just after our goalie had cleared the ball upfield. There had been a few other strong challenges and players down on the turf.

Blues stay at 11

Two minutes before the break came one of the best Chelsea attacks so far. Ziyech played his part by switching play to Sterling in space and the England international connected well with his shot, drawing a diving save from Fraser Forster who was continuing to deputise for Hugo Lloris.

There was just time left in the half for the temperature of the contest to be raised a few more degrees when players came together after a foul that earned Kai Havertz a yellow card.

Emerson Royal was also booked for a barge into back of Ziyech and initially that was it, until VAR reviewed the Moroccan’s reaction. Having pushed back at the Tottenham wing-back, Ziyech was initially shown a red card by referee Stuart Attwell but then having been told to look at the replays, he downgraded the card to yellow. Not popular with the home support!

Restart pain

Plenty of those inside the stadium had not returned to their seats in time to see Tottenham take the lead with less than a minute of the second half played.

Kepa initially made a save from Emerson Royal after a Kane lay-off and Chelsea cleared the ball from our penalty area, but Skipp was able to nip past Joao Felix onto the ball and unleashed a venomous shot that Kepa’s fingertips could not keep out.

Ziyech’s game did come to an end with an hour played, as did Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s, as Potter brought on Mason Mount and Denis Zakaria.

It was Mount who tapped the ball onto the Havertz midway through the half as the Blues passed sweetly into the Spurs area but Forster was out quickly to smother before the German could shoot.

Having had to leave the pitch for a short time to sort out his communications equipment, referee Attwell separated Spurs and Chelsea players again as the edge to this game continued. Then Tottenham scored their second from a corner.

The delivery was headed towards the far post by Eric Dier where the lurking Kane hooked the ball in with eight minutes left on the clock, putting his side on course for their win.

What's next?

It's a clear week and then a home hosting of Leeds United in the Premier League. That match kicks off at 3pm on Saturday.

Chelsea (4-3-3): Kepa; James, Thiago Silva (c) (W Fofana 19), Koulibaly, Chilwell; Loftus-Cheek (Zakaria 62), Joao Felix (Mudryk 83), Enzo; Ziyech (Mount 62), Havertz, Sterling (Aubameyang 83).

Unused subs Bettinelli, Badiashile, Gallagher, Madueke.

Booked Havertz 45+3, Ziyech 45+6, Mount 74

Tottenham (3-4-2-1): Forster; Romero, Dier, Lenglet; Emerson Royal, Skipp, Hojbjerg, Davies; Kulusevski (Son 79), Richarlison (Porro 89); Kane (c).

Unused subs Austin, Sanchez, Tanganga, Perisic, Sarr, Danjuma, Moura.

Scorers Skipp 46, Kane 82

Booked Emerson Royal 45+3, Davies 59

Referee Stuart Attwell

Crowd 61,613