The Premier League returned after the international break and it came with its own share of heartbreaks.
Maurizio Sarri and his men lost their unbeaten run against London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley on Sunday, as they failed to provide answers to some forays made by Mauricio Pochettino’s men in the course of the game.
Tottenham have displayed an ability to bring the Blues back to earth in recent times, and it would have been a surprise if the Stamford Bridge outfit emerged unscathed from the high profile derby.
The Blues also suffered a blow in their title aspirations as they fell behind on points to the likes of league leaders Manchester City and Liverpool.
The league leaders, who pummeled West Ham 4 nil at the London Stadium in a reunion with former manager Manuel Pellegrini now sit 7 points above Chelsea and have not shown any signs of faltering anytime soon.
Liverpool also had to wait till the second half to beat Watford 3 nil at Vicarage Road to extend their lead over the Blues to 5 points.
More complications could be on the cards as London neighbors Arsenal also ran out 2:1 winners away to Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday, and now sit just 1 point below Chelsea with 27 points to Chelsea’s 28.
Tottenham started out like a house on fire with an intensity that took Maurizio Sarri’s men by surprise.
They couldn’t contain the incessant pressure from Spurs in the opening minutes before the usual suspect Dele Alli powered a header for the opener in the 8th minute, courtesy of a free-kick from Christian Eriksen which was conceded by David Luiz.
Another suspect against the Blues, Harry Kane came up with the second goal with a shot from outside the box that caught KepaArrizabalaga unawares as it swerved in the last second and hit the net.
The Blues had no answers and could have fallen further behind if not for the brilliance of Kepa between the sticks.
Their bid to play from the back successfully was thwarted as Spurs had three players pressing high whenever Kepa got the ball and tried to distribute it.
The second half came and Son Heung-Min came up with the best goal of the game after going on a solo run and making Jorginho look like an amateur before slotting past KepaArrizabalaga who had no answers in the 54th minute.
Olivier Giroud came up with a late consolation goal for Chelsea in the 85th minute to put some respect on the scoreline.
Regardless, Maurizio Sarri and his men got a reality check and the state of the Premier League table after Matchday 13 shows that they’ll have to put in more effort to stand a chance of a top 4 finish.
Maurizio Sarri will definitely get to work to correct some lapses that were apparent in the game. Nevertheless, the unbeaten run was halted, and Spurs did it in style to the chagrin of all Chelsea fans.
