Chelsea analysis: Historic Tottenham defeat damning for Antonio Conte... and what has happened to Eden Hazard?

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Simon Johnson1 April 2018

Chelsea lost a proud Stamford Bridge record against Tottenham on Easter Sunday as Dele Alli scored twice in a 3-1 comeback win for Spurs.

Tottenham had not beaten Chelsea at the Bridge for 28 years heading into Sunday's Premier League clash, and looked to be heading for another defeat after Alvaro Morata headed in following a Hugo Lloris blunder.

But Christian Eriksen scored a spectacular equaliser to rattle Chelsea before half-time, with Dele Alli netting a brace after the break to leave Chelsea's Champions League qualification hopes hanging by a thread.

Simon Johnson assesses the key talking points for Chelsea...

A damning indictment on Conte

EPA

A lot of Chelsea managers have come and gone over the last 28 years, but Conte will always be remembered as the one who lost to Tottenham at home.

The last time the north London club achieved the feat, Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister and Paul Gascoigne had yet to star at Italia '90.

Of course it had to end at some point, but the manner in which Conte's men surrendered such a proud achievement so meekly sums up how low the standards have dropped this term.

In a way it wasn't a surprise. Chelsea have won only two matches against the top six this term, the last of which was five months ago.

Chelsea fans have kept singing Conte's name this season despite a woeful title defence. This will test their support of the Italian like nothing else.

Perhaps Chelsea regret Caballero being in goal after all

PA

There is a possibility that even the lanky Thibaut Courtois wouldn't have reached Christian Eriksen's stunning first half strike.

But he would surely have had a better chance of keeping the Dane out than Caballero, who just watched the shot go over his head.

Courtois sat out the encounter due to a hamstring strain and initially the Belgian wasn't really missed.

Caballero made a fine clearance at the feet of Eriksen and showed some solid handling for the best part of 45 minutes.

But Tottenham's equaliser had a negative effect on most of the home side, Caballero included.

While he made one fine stop from Heung-min Son after the break, he was not totally convincing for the other two that Chelsea conceded.

Courtois has not been in great form either of late but one suspects Chelsea were unsettled at the back without their towering Belgian.

What's happened to Hazard?

AP

Chelsea's best player has gone AWOL in recent weeks and it has really damaged their chances of salvaging the season.

When Chelsea needed him to step up the most, Hazard has barely made an impact in any of their key games during the run-in.

After doing little in the head-to-head with Barcelona in the Champions League, this was another underwhelming display.

There has been a lot of transfer talk involving Real Madrid, but one wonders if the issues are physical rather mental.

Hazard looked a good yard short of pace. On more than one occasion he was played in on goal but didn't have the speed to even get a shot away.

The 27-year-old may be feeling the affects of carrying Chelsea offensively for most of the year, but Real Madrid surely won't be too impressed with that they've been seeing lately.

Chelsea can hope Morata will end the season how he started

REUTERS

Morata has admitted that his back problems are a thing of the past and perhaps it's no coincidence that he's scoring again.

After going 13 games without a goal, Chelsea's record signing has now found the net in successive contests.

The strike against Leicester City before the international break was huge for his fragile confidence.

Even though this afternoon's chance looked pretty simple after Hugo Lloris missed Victor Moses' cross, it's the kind of opportunity he was snatching at for a few months.

After opening the scoring here, it was noticeable how much more involved in the game he was, although, not all of his interventions came off and his all-round game still needs improving.

Morata began life at Chelsea with seven goals in his first eight appearances - perhaps he can get through the final fixtures with a similar run.

Time to start planning for the Europa League

AP

Chelsea's top four hopes are surely over after this demoralising defeat and the truth is they don't look like a Champions League team.

The gap to Spurs is now eight points with just six League games remaining and Chelsea don't have the matches left, quality or belief to overhaul them.

They still have the FA Cup to aim for this term, but the reality for the club is how they can cope in Europe's second tier in 2018-109.

This will have a knock-on effect on who they will be able to buy in the close season and even keep - Courtois and Hazard have yet to sign extensions to their contracts.

The next manager may also be harder to acquire. Luis Enrique is the favourite to replace Conte, but would he want to take over this side now?

A huge rebuilding job lies in store, the Chelsea hierarchy knew that anyway. But it maybe even greater than they feared on this evidence.

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