Glenn Hoddle praised Tottenham Hotspur midfielder, Oliver Skipp, but slammed Chelsea trio Raheem Sterling, Kepa and Joao Felix for the part they played, as he told Premier League Productions (26/02/23 at 3:45 pm).
After a cagey opening 45 minutes during their all-London affair, Skipp opened the scoring for Spurs inside the first minute of the second half, with Hoddle claiming that the Spurs academy product left Chelsea’s January capture, Felix ‘for dead’.
The Portugal star wasn’t the only one in the firing line, with Hoddle ripping into Sterling for ‘falling asleep’, whilst he also felt that Kepa should have saved the effort given that it was straight at him.
For supporters, it’s a great feeling when you can get one over on your rivals, but it’s even better if your local players or one of your own are the ones on the scoresheet.
Both Skipp and Harry Kane have come through the Tottenham academy, and whilst there is always more limelight on the England captain, their 22-year-old midfielder is going under the radar.
Tottenham legend Hoddle stated that Skipp deserved his Man of the Match award, but he wasn’t too pleased by how Chelsea were defending.
“A rasping goal, wasn’t it?” said Hoddle. “He struck it well and he deserves that Player of the Match because his all-round game typified how Tottenham played today. They were solid when they needed to be and they were really dangerous on the counter.
“The ball is going back 25 yards even. Their (Chelsea’s) first instinct is to drop off. There are still two seconds for the ball to travel that distance. Look where they are. It’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek going in for a header, it should be a centre-back or a back-four player. The midfield should be pushed in.
“I think, without Thiago Silva on the pitch, they would have been prepared – that’s the simple side of the game. The ball is going back (by Tottenham) and they (Chelsea) are going backwards! They could have scored with Emerson Royal. Look Sterling, sleeping! Sleeping!
“Kepa might have done better. The distance of the ball, he gets a little finger to it. But look how deep they are. Tottenham are on the edge of the box and they haven’t had to do much – Skipp scored a goal with a great effort, but he won it with a determination of leaving Felix for dead – when it happened we are saying ‘is that top corner?’ I thought it went a bit central, for me. But I think Kepa could have done better because of the distance.”
TOTTENHAM WITHOUT CONTE
During the reverse fixture at the start of the season, there were some fiery scenes between Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel during that 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge.
Many would have been waiting for the reverse fixture between the two. But it just happens to be that none of them were in the dugout.
Of course, Tuchel was booted out by owner Todd Boehly, whilst Conte is recovering in Italy after surgery, although, in his absence, Cristian Stellini is doing a pretty fine job.
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