On Thursday, Enzo Fernandez's 1-0 victory put pressure on struggling Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou, propelling Chelsea to fourth position in the Premier League.
Fernandez's second-half header sealed a tough London derby at Stamford Bridge. Wednesday's wins by Newcastle and Manchester City dropped Chelsea from fourth to sixth in the Champions League race. Chelsea's comeback left them two points ahead of Newcastle and one ahead of City.
The top four teams will advance to the Champions League, with the fifth likely securing a spot based on English clubs' European outcomes. Chelsea's manager Enzo Maresca faces criticism for conservative tactics, despite only one loss in their last 13 league games against Tottenham.
Maresca canceled Chelsea's day off after a 1-0 loss to Arsenal in a friendly against a young team, despite a fifth win in six games and dynamic play against Tottenham.
It was again another demoralizing defeat for Postecoglou, who might be fired at the conclusion of this miserable season. In addition to winning only one of their past six games in all competitions, Tottenham has lost their last four league games. The North Londoners have lost 16 of their last 30 league games, leaving them sagging in 14th place.
Tottenham's Europa League matchup against Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarterfinals is their final opportunity to snap their 17-year trophy drought and live up to Postecoglou's claim that he always wins a major award in his double season.
Trevoh Chalobah's ball to Nicolas Jackson nearly gave Chelsea the lead in the opening minute, but Guglielmo Vicario stopped it. Jackson's effort struck Van de Ven and then bounced off the post. In the first few minutes, the Blues were ahead, when Malo Gusto's shot missed the mark by a narrow margin.
Cole Palmer deflected the ball, with Fernandez trying to score, but Vicario smothered it on the goal-line. Amid criticism of Jadon Sancho's loan performance, Maresca urged him to improve. Vicario skillfully saved Sancho's curling attempt, nearly meeting Maresca's challenge.
Toward halftime, Tottenham's Cristian Romero shoved Levi Colwill, sparking a major altercation. Chelsea, fired up, scored in the 50th minute as Fernandez headed past Vicario from Palmer's cross.
Postecoglou faced mockery from Tottenham fans for substituting Brenan Johnson and Pape Sarr with Wilson Odobert and Lucas Bergvall. Sarr's 69th-minute long-range goal briefly quieted his critics.
But since Sarr had fouled Moises Caicedo, VAR disallowed the goal, and Postecoglou shook his head in exasperation. Robert Sanchez made a fantastic stop on Son Heung-min's close-range attempt in the 89th minute, just inches from saving Postecoglou.