Chelsea and Cole Palmer are back to winning ways.
Tottenham and Ange Postecoglou are struggling, facing another setback, possibly putting his job at risk.
The Tottenham manager, Postecoglou, reacted to his own fans after a disallowed goal by substitute Pape Mata Sarr, which could have equalized the score.
Earlier, Tottenham fans criticized Postecoglou’s substitution of Lucas Bergvall for Sarr with 25 minutes remaining.
However, VAR overturned Sarr`s goal due to a foul on Moises Caicedo, increasing pressure on Postecoglou.
Palmer`s assist for Fernandez’s goal marked his first goal contribution in 10 games and became the pivotal moment of the match.
Chelsea`s victory is crucial in their pursuit of a Champions League spot after other contenders won earlier in the week.
The win was anticipated, adding to Tottenham`s and Postecoglou`s struggles.
Postecoglou is the first Spurs manager to lose his first four league derbies in London. Tottenham has not won at Stamford Bridge since April 2018.
His future may depend on winning the Europa League to qualify for the Champions League.
Tottenham, despite having key players back, offered little threat to Chelsea.
Postecoglou admitted pre-match that many Tottenham fans might have lost faith in his project.
Chelsea dominated the game.
While not as intense as the 2016 “Battle of the Bridge” or as high-scoring as previous Chelsea-Tottenham matches, the game was eventful. Both teams had goals disallowed by VAR, and there were numerous yellow cards and passionate moments.
Van de Ven and Romero played together in central defense for Spurs for the first time since their injuries in a previous match against Chelsea four months prior.
Within the first minute, they were almost caught out by Trevoh Chalobah`s long pass.
Nicolas Jackson, returning from injury, was initially blocked by goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, and Van De Ven`s clearance attempt resulted in the ball hitting the post.
Tottenham quickly responded with an attack, but Marc Cucurella blocked Son Heung-Min`s shot.
Chelsea`s Malo Gusto then shot just wide, almost scoring.
The game calmed down briefly before Fernandez was denied a goal from Palmer`s cross by Destiny Udogie.
Tensions remained high. Caicedo and Van De Ven clashed after a strong challenge on Palmer.
Tottenham`s Jadon Sancho was urged to shoot more often.
Son forced a save from Robert Sanchez, and Sancho`s shot was also stopped by Vicario.
Before halftime, a scuffle broke out when Romero fouled Levi Colwill and clashed with Chalobah, leading to bookings for both.
Despite the action, the score remained 0-0 until halftime.
Early in the second half, Palmer`s cross found Fernandez unmarked, who headed home the first goal.
Caicedo then scored a volley, but VAR disallowed it for offside after a lengthy review.
Tottenham fans chanted against chairman Levy.
Chelsea continued to attack, with Palmer testing Vicario again.
Postecoglou thought Sarr had equalized with a long-range shot, but VAR intervened again, disallowing the goal due to a foul on Caicedo.
Late chances came for both teams, with Son`s shot saved by Sanchez in the 89th minute.
Despite 12 minutes of added time, Tottenham could not score, increasing pressure on Postecoglou.
Postecoglou blamed the disallowed goal and excessive VAR review time for the defeat.
He criticized the six-minute VAR check, questioning what was “clear and obvious” if it required such a long review.
“You are standing around for 12 minutes. It`s just killing the game, but no-one cares about that, they just love the drama and controversy.” he said.
“If a referee sees that and he needs to see it for six minutes, what`s clear and obvious about it? It`s crazy, it`s madness.”
“We accept it and have to take the fall out from it.”
