06 November 2023 , 22:35
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It was a night of utter chaos and carnage.
And that was just the VAR which, quite frankly, has reduced football to being a sideshow to the technology which is in serious danger of killing the game. Five disallowed goals, two red cards for Tottenham and Ange Postecoglou lost two big players to injury as well as their unbeaten start to the season on a disastrous night for the home side.
Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie were sent off while Micky van de Ven and James Maddison both limped off injured as Chelsea ended up running riot. It was some return for Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino who was so loved by the Spurs fans during his time in charge at White Hart Lane.
And also some night for Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson who finished the night with a hat trick after two goals in injury time as Tottenham’s nine men finally succumbed to the counterattack.
Now we will discover a lot about the depth of Tottenham’s squad as they missed the chance to regain top spot from Manchester City as they will be without their first choice centre half pairing and Maddison who has been exceptional.
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But so much enjoyment from a hectic and crazy London derby will be lost amid the VAR mayhem because once again the technology took centre stage.
VAR has sucked the life out of the game and the Premier League seems to be suffering more than anyone else. The greatest league in the world is turning into a circus.
It actually started well for Tottenham when it was still about the football rather than the technology. Dejan Kulusevski’s shot was deflected off Levi Colwill’s backside to wrong-foot Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez after just six minutes.
Michael Oliver checked with VAR before ruling out Raheem Sterling's goal (Getty Images)But Son Heung-Min then had an effort disallowed for offside. Udogie was lucky not to get a straight red for a two-footed challenge on Raheem Sterling. He only got a yellow as VAR ruled it was reckless rather than dangerous.
And that was the start of the whole VAR soap opera. Sterling saw his effort ruled out after video replays showed that the ball deflected onto his arm before he put it into the net.
Moises Caicedo then saw his effort ruled out for offside. But that was only half the story as VAR went through THREE checks before awarding a penalty and a red card for Romero.
VAR then checked van de Ven’s challenge on Sterling. That was cleared. But then after VAR sent referee Michael Oliver to check the screen, it was clear that Romero had left his mark on Enzo Fernandez with a brutal challenge.
Tottenham were down to ten men and Chelsea had a penalty which Cole Palmer duly converted despite keeper Guglielmo Vicario’s best efforts.
It went downhill fast for Spurs. Postecoglou was booked. Maddison hobbled off injured. Van de Ven, who has been one of the signings of the season, then pulled up with a hamstring injury. In the meantime, Nicolas Jackson had another effort ruled out for offside.
Udogie’s red card was long overdue when he got a second booking for scything down Sterling after 55 minutes. Still, Chelsea were struggling to break down the nine men. But finally, we got a goal. Sterling broke free as Tottenham persisted with a high defensive line. The Chelsea winger then squared it for Jackson to score and finally put the visitors ahead.
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Eric Dier thought he had made it 2-2 but VAR ruled it was offside by a whisker. And finally, Chelsea made use of their numerical advantage. Twice, Jackson scored in injury time with two similar goals on the breakaway as not even VAR could deny Chelsea a memorable victory.