LONDON, Jan 24: Once Hakim Ziyech’s curling, dipping strike landed in the Tottenham goal, Chelsea never looked back.
Sure, it took until two minutes into the second half to break the deadlock and the Moroccan was justified in ranking it “10 out of 10.”
But the space gifted for Thiago Silva’s header from Mason Mount’s free kick in the 55th minute to seal a 2-0 win on Sunday was a snapshot of this most lopsided of London rivalries.
It’s now 33 wins for Chelsea against Tottenham in the Premier League era – more than against any other opponent. Not since 2018 has a Tottenham player even scored against Chelsea in the league when the north London side last won this derby.
Chelsea stayed a point behind second-place Liverpool, which won 3-1 at Crystal Palace through first-half goals from Virgil Van Dijk and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Fabinho’s penalty.
What helped Conte was Arsenal being held 0-0 by Burnley on Sunday. Arsenal did move above Tottenham into sixth place. (AP)