Tottenham Hotspur vs. Chelsea: Final score 2-0, Dele Alli shines in exciting match

Tottenham Hotspur emerged victorious over league-leading Chelsea in what was perhaps the best match of the English Premier League so far this season. Dele Alli’s brace of goals on either side of halftime was the deciding factor in their 2-0 win, with Tottenham stepping up their level of play significantly to topple Chelsea and end their near-record winning streak in EPL play.

The match started off incredibly physically, with players from both sides running straight at one another and no one backing down from the challenges. It was the exact kind of match that neutrals love and fans of the teams involved loathe — a fast-paced, very even affair that could swing either way on a moment’s notice, which was wildly entertaining to watch as long as you weren’t too invested in the result.

Even as the pace of the game slowed and the two sides started playing a more probing game around the half hour mark, the intensity hardly let up, and there was a feeling that the first team to make a mistake would be punished ruthlessly. That turned out to be completely true, with Chelsea defender Gary Cahill biting too hard on a drive towards the box from Christian Eriksen in first half stoppage time, pulling Chelsea’s back three a little too far apart and giving Tottenham the space they needed to make something happen. That something came in the form of a cross from Eriksen, with young Dele Alli rising up to meet it, curling a header past Thibaut Courtois and inside the far post to give Spurs a crucial lead.

Tottenham came flying out of the gates in the second half, absorbing pressure from Chelsea and launching ruthless counterattacks in reply. One of those counters turned into something that looked very familiar not quite ten minutes into the half — with Eriksen driving forward, a Chelsea defender stepping out too soon, and Alli rising to meet a cross. This time it happened deeper into the final third, with Alli meeting Eriksen’s cross at the far post, but the result was no different, with Alli wheeling away to celebrate his second goal of the day.

That 2-0 lead for Tottenham took none of the urgency or energy out of the match, with Chelsea pushing hard and fast for a goal of their own — even going so far as to make a pair of attacking substitutions in the form of Willian coming on for Marcos Alonso, and Cesc Fabregas eventually replacing N’Golo Kante.

Those changes proved insufficient, however, with the Spurs holding firm and creating enough attacking pressure of their own to keep Chelsea from over-committing to goalscoring efforts. The result is a spectacular one for Tottenham, who announced that they’re all the way back into their best form in style, and established themselves as a major threat in the EPL going forward. Chelsea can hardly be dispirited by the match, but the result and the loss of their winning streak is rough. Antonio Conte now has clear things to work on and improve for his side. It could ultimately wind up improving them down the final stretches of the season.

Regardless, this was an utterly fantastic match to watch, and set a high bar for just how good an EPL match can be. If another match beats it this season, that will be a truly special game indeed.

Tottenham Hotspur: Hugo Lloris; Eric Dier, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen; Kyle Walker, Moussa Dembele (Harry Winks 74’), Victor Wanyama, Danny Rose; Dele Alli (Moussa Sissoko 86’), Harry Kane (Son Heung-Min 90’+2), Christian Eriksen

Goals: Alli (45’+1, 54’)

Chelsea: Thibaut Courtois; Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Gary Cahill; Victor Moses (Michy Batshuayi 85’), Nemanja Matic, N’Golo Kante (Cesc Fabregas 79’), Marcos Alonso (Willian 65’); Pedro, Diego Costa, Eden Hazard

Goals: None

Whether the players were wearing blue shirts or white shirts, everyone on the pitch was giving this game 100 percent of their possible effort from the very first whistle. This game meant a lot for the fortunes of both Chelsea and Tottenham, and the players made that very clear by leaving absolutely everything out on the pitch.

Sometimes that meant the players got a little over-eager and sloppy -- see the heated argument between Diego Costa and Pedro over a miscommunication and bad pass in the first half for an example of this — but that doesn’t change that the intensity and energy on display made this an excellent match to watch, especially for neutral fans.

With the match’s opening goal, Dele Alli changed. Not in how he was approaching the game — he was playing incredibly well before he scored that fantastic header and continued to do so afterwards — but rather in his perception. Coming into the match, Alli was a brash but massively talented youngster who had shown great flashes of his ability, but also the frustrating inconsistencies of youth. That goal, though, showed us something more — it showed us his ability to be an important star in the game.

Perhaps it seems silly to heap so much importance on a single goal, but it really was a huge moment for Alli’s career. That situation — with Tottenham managing to pull Chelsea’s defense apart a bit on the break, and desperately needing a goal in first-half stoppage time to capitalize on the quality of their play going into the half — is one he’s too often struggled in. This time the 20-year-old showed poise and clarity beyond his years. As Christian Eriksen sent in his cross, Alli stepped into the perfect pocket of space between defenders, and put the perfect touch on a looping header to the far corner, bending it just far enough past Thibaut Courtois to curve it inside the post.

It was a thing of beauty, and while it was far from the most audacious goal Alli has scored, the ease, surety, and importance of the goal in the moment makes it stand out in his short career. The fact that he scored another goal that was almost a carbon copy of it ten minutes into the second half only cements the point — Alli is maturing rapidly, and his ability as a pure football player, not just for his individual skills but for his full rounded game, is rapidly driving him to stardom.

Where he goes from here, we can only imagine — but Dele Alli has a bright, bright future.

Yes, this loss is brutal and it hurts, especially with Chelsea chasing the consecutive Premier League wins record. But they’re still in first place, they still have a healthy lead over second-place Liverpool, and it’s not as though they had a bad game despite coming out short on the scoreline.

It wound up being that Tottenham were the better side on the day, but Chelsea were still an excellent side. They were, perhaps, a tired one, which is to be expected at the tail end of the chaotic, jam-packed holiday period. That lack of energy didn’t take away from their intensity or commitment to this match, and they’re still the team to beat in the EPL right now. Tottenham got one over on them, yes, but it’s still Chelsea’s title to lose.