3-4 v Chelsea FC - 8 December 2024 - Home

Cole Palmer's ice-cool 'Panenka' penalty sealed Chelsea's impressive comeback as they came from two goals behind to win at Tottenham.

Strikes from Jadon Sancho and Enzo Fernandez and two spot-kicks from Palmer sank Spurs, who made a fast start but then fell apart and suffered a defeat that adds to the recent agony for under-fire manager Ange Postecoglou.

Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski had put Tottenham 2-0 up in 11 minutes, but by the time Son Heung-min added their third in stoppage time the game had slipped away from them.

Chelsea's win moves them to just four points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, whose game at Everton on Saturday was postponed because of Storm Darragh.

Spurs dominated the early proceedings in a breathless start at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and Solanke poked the opener inside five minutes after Brennan Johnson capitalised on a slip from Marc Cucurella.

Cucurella slipped again six minutes later to allow Kulusevski to drive at Chelsea's defence and finish inside Robert Sanchez's near post.

That was the cue for Cucurella to change his boots, having struggled to stay on his feet at great cost to his team.

Momentum gradually began to shift, and Chelsea winger Sancho dribbled past Pedro Porro and Radu Dragusin before curling a terrific low shot in off the right post.

The comeback was under way, but Chelsea had an escape when Pape Matar Sarr headed against the bar from a corner.

Chelsea's second-half surge came amid a spate of injuries for Tottenham. They lost key defenders Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven - who both returned for this important game but could not last the distance - and winger Johnson.

Palmer profited as the Spurs defence hopelessly lost their focus. The England forward converted his first penalty just after the hour as Yves Bissouma brought down Moises Caicedo with a wild lunge, and the second was won by Palmer when Sarr needlessly shoved him over.

Palmer's cheeky finish from that second spot-kick rubbed salt into Spurs wounds.

Between the two penalties, Fernandez cracked in an excellent third Chelsea goal after Palmer's effort was blocked. It all meant that Son's late goal from a corner routine was trifling consolation.

Inevitably, the question will be asked about whether Postecoglou was right to risk Van de Ven and Romero, and with this defeat following on from the midweek loss at Bournemouth there will be growing focus on the Australian boss.

Spurs sit 11th, while second-placed Chelsea march on into a title race, Palmer leading the way. On a day when he had to cope with supporters in the home end throwing objects at him, Palmer made sure he and the visitors had the last laugh.

He now holds the longest 100% conversion record in the competition after putting away his first 12 spot-kicks.

Former Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure had a perfect record of 11 out of 11 penalties in the competition, reaching that mark almost 11 years ago to the day, but Palmer has gone one better.

It was typical of Palmer that he got there in virtuoso style, dinking the ball down the middle as goalkeeper Fraser Forster expected him to go for a corner.

If there was any pressure on the moment, Palmer clearly didn't feel it, living up to his 'Cold Palmer' nickname.

Enzo Maresca's Chelsea are comfortably the top scorers in the Premier League with 35 goals from 15 games so far.

Palmer, still only 22 years old, has scored 11 of those goals and added six assists.

He has 50 goal involvements (33 goals, 17 assists) in 48 Premier League games since joining from Manchester City, fast emerging as the kind of player a title tilt can be built around.

By the end of a thrilling first half, it felt as if Tottenham's anxiety levels were soaring - on the pitch and in the stands.

They were still leading, yet home supporters sensed a twist, and losing Romero, Van de Ven and Johnson sent the team into a tailspin.

Romero's condition appears to be the biggest concern after he suffered what was described as a quad muscle injury, different from his initial toe problem, while Van de Ven's setback was played down and Johnson was said to be ill.

Spurs have a strong first-choice XI that can compete with the league's best, but the squad's underbelly is soft and the mistakes that led to Chelsea's penalties added to the day's damage.

The camera repeatedly panned to Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy on the TV broadcast.

As Spurs slide further away from the European places, Postecoglou's future with this team might have become a matter that Levy chooses to consider, just 18 months after welcoming him with a four-year contract.