London, United Kingdom – Mauricio Pochettino made a triumphant return to Tottenham, this time as Chelsea’s manager, overseeing a breathtaking 4-1 victory against a nine-player Tottenham squad in a Monday Night Football spectacle that will be remembered for its drama.
Tottenham, under the management of Ange Postecoglou, seized the lead just six minutes into the game. Dejan Kulusevski, cutting inside from the right, unleashed a shot that took a deflection off Levi Colwill and found its way past the deceived Robert Sanchez.
However, VAR soon took center stage, shaping the course of the match. Chelsea leveled the score through a Cole Palmer penalty in the 35th minute. First, Heung-min Son’s goal was disallowed due to an offside decision, followed by Raheem Sterling’s goal being ruled out for handball upon review. Moises Caicedo’s effort was also disallowed for offside.
The pivotal moment arrived during the build-up to the final incident, as Cristian Romero was deemed to have fouled Enzo Fernandez in the penalty area, resulting in a red card being shown to Romero by referee Michael Oliver.
The second half belonged to Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson, who completed a remarkable hat-trick, securing the 4-1 victory for Chelsea and marking a successful return for Mauricio Pochettino to Tottenham, albeit as the opposing manager. The result inflicted Tottenham’s first Premier League defeat of the season and left fans and pundits alike buzzing over the chaotic match.