Chelsea claimed their first Premier League win since January 11 on Saturday as they beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.
Olivier Giroud scored his first Premier League goal of the season in the 15th minute, while Marcos Alonso found the net three minutes after the break.
Tottenham replied in the 89th minute courtesy of an Antonio Rudiger own goal to set up a tense finish, but they were unable to engineer a comeback.
The Blues have now won four of their last five meetings with Spurs.
The first notable chance of the match fell to Lucas Moura, who stung the palms of Willy Caballero from the edge of the area.
Soon after, Hugo Lloris kept out Mason Mount at his near post after he was slipped through on the left by Marcos Alonso.
Chelsea continued to pile on the pressure, and before long, they were ahead.
Olivier Giroud—making his third league start of the season—forced a save from Lloris, and after Barkley had hit the post on the rebound, he made no mistake with a rebound of his own:
Spurs struggled to get into the game after falling behind, but they were able to show some signs of life before the break as Davinson Sanchez had a header tipped over by Caballero and Japhet Tanganga gave the hosts a scare when he got in behind Alonso.
Chelsea consolidated their lead early in the second half, however, when Barkley laid off Mount’s ball to Alonso on the edge of the area, and the Spaniard drove a low effort beyond Lloris:
Spurs’ afternoon almost got worse soon after when VAR reviewed an incident in which Giovani Lo Celso stood on Cesar Azpilicueta’s leg, but the Argentinian escaped sanction.
Dan Kilpatrick of the Evening Standard felt the midfielder was lucky to remain on the pitch:
A reminder that intent is irrelevant. It’s dangerous play.
Substitute Tammy Abraham almost added a third from close range after Mount—having turned Jan Vertonghen with ease—picked him out from the right, but Lloris kept his effort out with a fine save, while Alonso rattled the crossbar with a free-kick.
Spurs pulled one back late on in a rare foray upfield when substitute Erik Lamela burst into the box and his attempted cross deflected in off Rudiger’s heel, but the hosts held on for the three points.
What Next
Chelsea play Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday before facing Bournemouth in the Premier League next Saturday. Tottenham play Wolverhampton Wanderers in domestic action on March 1.
