Joao Pedro strikes at last as Chelsea edge past Spurs
Joao Pedro ended his long wait for a Chelsea goal with a decisive strike that clinched a narrow 1-0 victory and prolonged Tottenham's poor run at home on Saturday.
Under Enzo Maresca, Chelsea went ahead through Joao Pedro's effort towards the end of the opening period in the London derby held at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
This marked his initial score in nine outings across various competitions since his previous one versus Fulham back on August 30.
Since joining the Blues from Brighton for a 60 million pound (78 million dollar) transfer during the summer window, the 24 year old Brazilian has managed just three goals.
Chelsea's latest success, their third in four Premier League matches, propelled them to fourth position, trailing third placed Tottenham only on goal difference.
Tottenham have failed to secure a home league triumph since their opening day success against Burnley in August.
Their disappointing domestic performances at home this year began under previous manager Ange Postecoglou, and current head coach from Brentford has not yet resolved the issue.
Despite a midweek League Cup fourth round defeat to Newcastle, Tottenham have performed strongly away, including a convincing 3-0 victory over Everton in their prior Premier League fixture.
However, supporters of Tottenham are growing restless with the straightforward approach employed by the manager, which clashes with the club's motto of 'to dare is to do'.
The game started badly for the manager when Lucas Bergvall picked up a head knock and was substituted by concussion replacement Xavi Simons.
Bergvall seemed to beg the medical team to allow him to remain on the pitch, and upon denial, he shoved one of the staff members before the manager stepped in to calm things down.
Sloppy Spurs
In the initial half, Alejandro Garnacho posed the primary danger for Chelsea, with the Argentine attacker challenging Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario from afar.
Vicario dealt with a knee problem during the half but recovered after receiving care and soon proved vital for his team.
After Pedro Porro's clearance bounced off Garnacho towards Joao Pedro in the penalty area, Vicario stayed composed to block the forward's close range shot.
Yet Joao Pedro refused to be thwarted and compensated for the earlier chance by opening the scoring for Chelsea in the 34th minute.
Moises Caicedo pressed aggressively against Xavi Simons and Micky van de Ven near the Tottenham box, regaining the ball and nudging it to Joao Pedro, who fired it powerfully into the top of the net from close range.
The Tottenham manager reacted with anger to his team's careless backline work, lashing out at a drinks bottle from the sidelines.
Following his breakthrough, Joao Pedro almost added another when he controlled a pass from Malo Gusto and drove a strong shot that Vicario diverted over the bar.
Rodrigo Bentancur was lucky to receive only a caution after his rough tackle on Reece James was ruled not to constitute serious foul play by officials.
Tottenham at last called Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez to make a save just before the break, parrying a powerful effort from Mohammed Kudus, which the Spanish stopper handled well.
Shortly after the restart, Enzo Fernandez missed a clear header from 10 yards out, sending it over the crossbar from Reece James's delivery while completely free.
The home team repeatedly gave away the ball too readily, their absence of forward drive leaving the crowd more and more irritated.
The supporters' frustration grew further as Vicario was forced to push away a stinging attempt from Pedro Neto, and Tottenham posed no real danger in the closing stages.