Tottenham brush aside Chelsea for comfortable 2-0 win

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min clears the ball during a Premier League match against Chelsea at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Sunday. [AFP/YONHAP]

Tottenham Hotspur brushed aside Chelsea with a comfortable 2-0 win at home on Sunday, scoring twice in the second half to beat their London rivals in a league game for the first time since 2018.

Twenty-two-year-old Oliver Skipp, a homegrown product of the Tottenham academy, scored his debut goal for the club to open things up at the top of the second half, picking up a loose ball in the box and hammering it into the back of the net.

Harry Kane added No. 2, a tidy set piece headed on by Eric Dier to the England captain to slot past the Chelsea goalkeeper at the far post.

The corner that led to the Kane goal started at the feet of Son Heung-min, who came on in the 79th minute and created the goal-scoring opportunity just three minutes later.

Sunday’s game was the second in a row that saw Son start from the bench, an unusual position for the Korean midfielder to be in, but one that has proven highly effective — he scored in four minutes last week when he came on against West Ham and sliced in a perfect corner for another goal this week in just three minutes.

Son’s sudden relegation to the bench could be a cause for concern, although Tottenham Assistant Manager Cristian Stellini implied ahead of the West Ham game that the decision was made because Son was not 100 percent fit after a grueling season including the World Cup and recovery from a tough orbital fracture injury.

Sunday’s result could mark significant moments in the season for both teams, although in very different directions. While Spurs celebrate their first run of three straight home games without conceding a single goal for the first time since 2019, Chelsea are looking at just six goals scored across their last 12 Premier League games, the lowest of any team in the competition across that spell.

With the win, Tottenham now have a four-point cushion in fourth place over Newcastle, although they trail Manchester United in third by four points.

Spurs have a busy week ahead as they take on Sheffield United in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Wednesday, before returning to the Premier League on Saturday to face Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The Spurs-Wolves game normally provides some exciting intrigue for Korean football fans, but the chance to see Son face off against national team teammate Hwang Hee-chan will be absent this year as the younger midfielder remains out with a hamstring injury.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]