Played in a fantastic atmosphere at Stamford Bridge from the off, Chelsea reasserted our derby dominance with another deserved win over Tottenham Hotspur, although there was plenty of drama along the way.

Nicolas Jackson struck the woodwork in the very first minute, but it remained goalless until Fernandez met Cole Palmer‘s cross with perfect timing to head us into the lead just after half-time. It was a lead we would not surrender.

That’s not to say it was straightforward, though, as first Moises Caicedo and then Pape Matar Sarr had goals ruled out by VAR after finding the net from range, and then Sanchez threw himself across his line to somehow keep out Son Heung-Min from close range, meaning it is Chelsea who remain the pride of London.

The selection

Nicolas Jackson was back to lead the line up front, as was Cole Palmer behind him. That saw Pedro Neto moving back to his more familiar role on the wing, with Jadon Sancho on the other flank.

Christopher Nkunku made way for those changes, as did Reece James, with Enzo Fernandez lining up alongside Moises Caicedo in midfield, the Argentinian captaining the Blues.

Robert Sanchez continued in goal, but there were two more changes ahead of him in our defence. Malo Gusto and Trevoh Chalobah came in for Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile, while Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella retained their places.

On top from the off

Chelsea were agonisingly close to taking the lead inside the first minute, as we made a blistering start to the game in a fantastic derby atmosphere at Stamford Bridge. Right from the off, Jackson was looking to get in behind the Tottenham defence, and he was found early by Chalobah.

Guglielmo Vicario was quick off his line to make the initial save, but in a chaotic few seconds it squirmed past the Spurs keeper, defender Micky Van de Ven attempted to clear, only to strike the ball against Jackson before the ball ricocheted back off the post.

That set the tone for a raucous opening, played at a high tempo, despite a lengthy pause while Caicedo received treatment after a bruising collision with Djed Spence.

We kept up the pressure, with Jackson stretching the visiting defence and Palmer dropping into pockets of space. For the second time, the crowd in the Matthew Harding Stand thought Chelsea had scored, when Gusto smashed a low effort into the side netting from the edge of the box. We were still less than 10 minutes in, but this derby was shaping up nicely.

Keeping the pressure up

Things started to calm a little, but not for long, while we were still finding ways to threaten, the momentum remaining firmly with the Blues.

That was shown when Sancho and Palmer combined well down the left, allowing the latter to square dangerously across goal. Fernandez was poised to meet it, but Destiny Udogie got back in time to make a crucial challenge and Vicario was able to gather the ball just before it crossed the line.

Increasingly as we approached the end of the first half, Tottenham’s defensive efforts were beginning to look ragged and even desperate at times, as they hacked the ball clear into touch more frequently.

There was to be no goal before half-time, although Sancho thought he had found the net when latching on to a deep Neto cross, but Vicario somehow reacted quickly to tip the shot over the bar. The opening 45 minutes then ended in fiery circumstances, as a push by Cristian Romero on Levi Colwill sparked a late melee, which saw Romero and Chalobah becoming the first names in the referee’s book.

Pride of London

We started the second half full of energy, looking to maintain our momentum from the first, being roared on by the home fans again. Palmer stung Vicario’s palms from a tight angle in a sign of intent and, less than five minutes after the restart, the visiting keeper was picking the ball out of his net.

Cucurella did well to recycle possession and feed Palmer out on the left, and the England international’s delivery was inch perfect. The pace and curl bent it in behind the Tottenham defenders, where Fernandez had lost his marker to arrive in space and head comfortably into the top corner. He may have made the finish look simple, but the celebrations were wild, tearing away towards the supporters in the front row of the Matthew Harding Stand, thumping the Chelsea badge on his chest.

The Blues thought we had got a second almost instantly, when Caicedo lashed a brilliant volley into the bottom corner from the edge of the box, but a lengthy VAR review determined there had been an offside at the free-kick which led to it, meaning it was ruled out. A 2-0 lead would have been no less than we deserved, though, in this increasingly fiery derby.

Fuse lit

Massively against the run of play, it seemed like Tottenham might have found an equaliser out of nowhere, when substitute Sarr, only on the pitch for a few minutes, fired into the bottom corner from range. However, the Chelsea players were adamant there was a foul on Caicedo first and, after heading to the touchline screen for another look, the referee Craig Pawson agreed.

Instead of a goal, Sarr was handed a yellow card, but by now the noise levels inside the Bridge had jumped up another notch, as had the tempo on the pitch. Vicario needed quick reactions to turn away a Fernandez drive, before being at full stretch to tip a dangerous Palmer cross away from the waiting Noni Madueke.

A clear chance remained elusive at either end for most of the last 15 minutes, though, a situation which suited Chelsea far more than Tottenham. It took a brilliant save by Sanchez in the last minute, as well as some street-smart defending through 12 added minutes, but our dominance in this London derby was once again confirmed at the final whistle, with a fourth successive victory over our capital rivals.

What it means

This win means we return to the top four in the Premier League table, one point ahead of fifth-placed Manchester City, with eight games remaining.

What is next

We are back in derby action in three days’ time, when we make the short trip to Brentford for a 2pm kick-off in the Premier League on Sunday 6 April. Attention will then switch to the UEFA Conference League and the first leg of our quarter-final away at Legia Warsaw, at 5.45pm on Thursday 10 April

The teams

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sanchez, Gusto, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernandez (c) (Dewsbury-Hall 90+1), Neto, Palmer (Tosin 90+1), Sancho (Madueke 68), Jackson (James 82)

Unused subs: Jorgensen, Acheampong, Badiashile, George, Nkunku

Scorer: Fernandez 50

Booked: Chaloabh 45+1, Jackson 67, Cucurella 74, Palmer 86

Tottenham (4-3-3): Vicario, Spence, Romero, Van de Ven (Porro 87), Udogie, Bergvall (Sarr 65), Bentancur, Maddison (Tel 87), Odobert (Johnson 65), Solanke, Son (c)

Unused subs: Kinsky, Davies, Bissouma, Gray, Moore

Booked: Romero 45+1, Sarr 73, Porro 90+8, Johnson 90+9, Spence 90+13

Referee: Craig Pawson