LIVE BLOG

FULL TIME: CHELSEA WIN!!!

90+8min: Alonso wins a foul near the corner flag and that should be that.

90+7min: Kane gets a sniff at goal at long last, after a great through ball from Ndombele, but Tomori sticks to his man and deflects the shot into Kepa’s arms.

90+6min: There may be more Chelsea fans than Spurs fans left in the stadium at this point.

90+3min: Willian with some skills to control the ball and then pick out Batshuayi. He drives towards goal, checks back onto his left, but hits his shot wide of the far post.

90+2min: Alonso deflects’s Aurier’s cross for a corner. Plenty of pushing and shoving in the area and Dele tries to win a penalty off Alonso. No interest from either referee. A THIRD stadium announcement regarding “racist behavior” has now been made.

90min: 8 minutes added on after all the VAR checks and stoppages.

89min: Willian picks out James at the far post, but his powerful drive is blocked.

86min: Dele offside, dives over Zouma’s leg. Spurs awarded the free kick. VAR’s checking for penalty, no check for offside?! Chelsea clear Eirksen’s free kick for a corner, then clear the corner for counter. But Kanté messes that up by checking back instead of taking a shot.

85min: The game seems to be petering out to the final whistle at this point.

80min: Abraham’s race is run. Batshuayi’s on. Azpilicueta appears to have picked up a knock in his right thigh, so Reece James is on as well.

79min: Chelsea clear the free kick easily and have a 4v3 counter, but Kanté can’t find the pass and pulls it back instead.

78min: Azpilicueta with a chance to counter after Kanté finds him, but the first-touch is way too long and it’s Spurs who can attack through Sanchez. He’s closed down and then fouled by Rüdiger wide left. Rüdiger gets a yellow for his troubles.

76min: Spurs win a corner despite the ball coming off Kane with Tomori on him. Chelsea clear the first ball, then Kepa catches the second.

74min: Wonderful interplayed between Alonso and Mount gives the latter a chance to cross from the left. It’s cleared just ahead of Abraham. Rose and Ndombele on for Vertonghen and Moura for Spurs.

72min: Jorginho turns the ball over, but Zouma clears Aurier’s cross. Meanwhile, racial abuse of Rüdiger has now been confirmed. Stadium announcement made.

70min: Aurier beats Alonso, but the latter appears to tackle him to the ground. No call from the referee, much to the chagrin of the fans and Mourinho.

68min: Jorginho on for Kovačić.

67min: Alderweireld gets a yellow for a tactical foul on Abraham. Mount takes the free kick from wide right; cleared easily.

66min: And we’re back underway.

65min: The game’s been stopped after Azpilicueta points out to the referee that Spurs fans are throwing things onto the pitch from behind Kepa’s goal. Rüdiger may or may not have also been targeted by some chanting, though for now that’s just insinuation from the replays and commentary.

62min: SON’S SENT OFF BY VAR!! HAHAHAHA!

60min: Spurs go long to Son, but Rüdiger’s out to cover. Son goes to ground and appears to kick out at Rüdiger. Taylor calls the foul, but VAR’s checking...

59min: Willian is fouled on a cross by Sissoko just outside the corner area. Mount takes what is basically a really short corner. Azpi flicks it on at the near post, but it’s too high and long to be useful and Spurs get a throw on the far side.

57min: Great diagonal pass from Willian to Azpilicueta, but his touch isn’t great and Spurs recover. Chelsea maintain control

55min: Mount again wins the ball off Vertonghen and Chelsea can counter. Mount’s pass to Abraham is poor, but he maintains control and finds Willian wide left. He plays in Alonso, who leathers one at Gazzaniga. He gives up the rebound which Abarham puts in the back of the net, but he was offside and the goal’s rightly chalked off.

54min: Mount presses high and wins the ball. Abraham jumps on it and drives the baseline, but his cross curls out of bounds and Spurs survive.

53min: Spurs pushing now as Kane bullies his way into the area wide left, but Chelsea scramble it away. Aurier then tries a cross from the right, but Kepa collects safely at the near post.

50min: Chelsea cut through the Spurs midfield, but Mount and Abraham overplay the situation and the latter’s return ball is cut out. Just take the shot, Tammy!

47min: Chelsea pressing high but Spurs fashion a ball over the top. Kepa out quickly to clear into the stands.

46min: Eriksen on for Dier at half-time for Spurs. Seems to be a change in formation as well, with a back three to match Chelsea’s?

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HALF TIME: Tremendous half from Chelsea. But the job is only half done.

45+4min: GOAL!!!! WILLLLLLIANNNNN!! No mistake from Willian. 2-0, CHELSEA!

45min: Willian plays over the top to Alonso, but Gazzaniga’s out to clear. But he misses the ball completely and takes out Alonso instead! Taylor gives a free kick for a foul by Alonso in a hilarious decision. BUT VAR GETS IT RIGHT after a 2-minute review!

44min: Mount with a tactical foul on Vertonghen. No card here either, much to the chagrin of the locals.

43min: Dele jumps on Kovačić’s back after he wins a 50-50. They fall to the ground and then start jawing and pushing. Both get a yellow.

41min: Sissoko trucks Kepa as the back pass from Alonso is just a bit short. The goalkeeper seems to come off worse as his head hits the ground hard, but he seems okay to carry on. Again no call from the referee.

39min: Chelsea causing further troubles for Spurs, but the move breaks down on the left as Alonso doesn’t read Mount’s flick and while Abraham manages to keep the ball in, his cross doesn’t find a target.

37min: Willian tries to play through to Abraham, but it’s cut out. Spurs go long, but Kepa and Rüdiger are aware and the former catches. Dele pushes Rüdiger into Kepa from behind, but he holds on. Referee turns a blind eye.

34min: Latest long ball to Azpi almost comes off, but Vertonghen pushes him off the ball and gets away with it. Vertonghen does seem to pick up a slight knock it looks like, but he also seems okay to play on.

33min: Spurs win the ball and cut out both Kanté and Kovačić, but Moura’s pass to start a counter is too strong and Chelsea can recover. Sissoko stays down behind the play, but looks okay to carry on.

30min: Zouma gets a yellow for stopping Spurs from taking a free kick quickly, with everyone stuck upfield. A bit silly, but possibly important.

29min: Tomori and Alonso make an absolute mess of dealing with a long goal kick and Spurs are in, but Son gets his far-post finish, after an excellent cross from the right, completely wrong.

27min: Aurier gets lucky twice, against Alonso and Kovačić and Spurs push on the right, but Tomori covers for a throw. Spurs pass it around and Sissoko eventually plays square into the area, finding Kane at the penalty spot. But his first-time shot is well over the bar.

24min: Kovačić cuts out a pass and Mount brings it forward, playing to Abraham, who pulls wide and crosses back in for Mount. His chest control isn’t quite precise enough and Sanchez can clear. From the throw, it’s Mount again who’s causing problems, cutting inside from the left, but his shot is deflected, and Spurs survive.

22min: Willian tries the quick shift to his right, but his cross is blocked for a corner. Willian takes, Spurs head clear, but Tomori quickly gets Chelsea going forward again. The move breaks down on the left, but Chelsea win a throw and retain possession.

20min: Mount, Willian, and Abraham try to cause a bit of havoc, but Spurs hold strong. Abraham’s eventually picked out by a cross, but he can’t generate any power on his header and the goalkeeper collects.

18min: After some confusions, Spurs cobble a move together, but Zouma heads clear Aurier’s cross and Mount completes the clearance, while getting fouled by Dier. Mount and Dier then come together again, in another 50-50, with Spurs getting the call.

15min: Abraham nicks the ball and Chelsea can turn to attack. Alonso’s cross is blocked for a corner, and this time Spurs are more aware and Willian’s normal corner is cleared.

12min: GOAL, WILLIAN!!!! Rüdiger goes for the big switch towards Alonso. Aurier’s got it covered but gets his header all wrong and gifts Chelsea a corner. Willian plays it short to Kovačić and gets it back, completely unmarked. A defender belatedly comes out, but Willian cuts inside and absolutely leathers one into the far corner. 1-0, CHELSEA!!!

10min: Rüdiger tries one from 35 yards. Didn’t miss by too much, but it wasn’t too close either.

9min: Chelsea come again, and Kanté’s cross is cleared for a corner. Willian takes, Azpi flicks it on at the near post, but Spurs clear in the center. Kanté wins possession back, but the move breaks down on the left wing.

8min: Kovačić looks up in midfield and spots Mount’s run through the center. The through ball is almost perfect, but Vertonghen can get a toe to it to poke it away and back to his goalkeeper.

6min: Kovačić pushes forward and Chelsea can create on the right flank. Mount ignores the Azpi overlap and cuts inside, finding Abraham in the area. He controls and tries to turn Alderweireld, but can’t quite get around on the shot, which goes well wide.

5min: Another poor switch from Tomori puts Chelsea under a bit of pressure, but strong work from Alonso to win it back and Chelsea can clear. Nervy start from the young center back.

4min: Tomori gives the ball away with a poor diagonal switch under pressure from Aurier, but Chelsea recover and Spurs pull back for possession.

3min: Zouma with two early long balls for advancing wing-backs, no joy yet.

KICK-OFF: The teams are out and Chelsea, in all blue including socks, get us underway. Looks like it’s Zouma in the center of the three-man backline, Rüdiger right, Tomori left.

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Well, here it is.

Spurs vs. Chelsea, Mourinho vs. Lampard, in-form vs. out of form, fourth place on the line.

Christmas cheers or Christmas jeers?

We’re about to find out. AND IT’S A SURPRISE 3-4-3 FROM LAMPARD!

Here we go!

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Tottenham Hotspur starting lineup (4-2-3-1):
Gazzaniga | Vertonghen, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Aurier | Dier, Sissoko | Dele, Son, Lucas | Kane (c)

Substitutes from: Vorm, Foyth, Rose, Winks, Ndombele, Lo Celso, Eriksen

Chelsea starting lineup (3-4-3):
Arrizabalaga | Tomori, Zouma, Rüdiger | Alonso, Kovačić, Kanté, Azpilicueta (c) | Willian, Abraham, Mount

Substitutes from: Caballero, Christensen, James, Jorginho, Hudson-Odoi, Pulisic, Batshuayi

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Date / Time: Sunday, December 22, 2019, 16.30 GMT; 11:30am EST; 10pm IST
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, England
Referee: Anthony Taylor

On TV: Sky Sports Main Event (UK); NBCSN, Telemundo (USA); Star Sports Select HD1 (India); Canal+ Sport 2, SuperSport 3 (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming: Sky Go (UK); NBC Sports Live, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo (USA); HotStar (India); DStv Now (NGA)

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Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes.