Throwback Thursday: Recalling 'Battle of the Bridge' with Pochettino set for Chelsea

 

With the imminent appointment of Mauricio Pochettino as the new manager of Chelsea, for Throwback Thursday this week, we decided to look back at one of the most dramatic games during his tenure as manager at the Blues’ fierce rivals, Tottenham, best remembered as the ‘Battle of the Bridge’. 

 

It was May 2nd 2016. Pochettino’s Spurs team came into this Monday night clash knowing that their chances of the title rested with Leicester dropping points after they themselves had dropped two vital points in a 1-1 draw against West Brom the Monday before, but if they were to keep any sort of hope of winning the league they would have to win at Stamford Bridge against bitter rivals Chelsea. With archrivals Arsenal hot on their tail, any sort of slip was bound to be capitalised by the Gunners for north London bragging rights. 

 

Leicester had drawn the day before away to Manchester United, which opened up the chance for Spurs to reduce the gap between themselves and the Foxes to five points with two games remaining. Though still a slim chance that they could win the league, the opportunity would have still been there. A win against Chelsea would have also put them five clear of Arsenal with those two games remaining, which could have all but sealed, though not mathematically, at least a runners-up spot, which would have been some consolation if they didn’t go onto win the title. 

 

The game began even enough between the two sides, both having an equal share of possession, with Spurs just edging proceedings, including having six shots to Chelsea’s three, though neither team had troubled Asmir Begovic or Hugo Lloris in the respective goals, as none of those nine shots had been on target. 

 

However, five minutes later and a clever pass from Erik Lamela in between Gary Cahill and John Terry slipped Harry Kane through to round Begovic and give Spurs the lead, sparking wild celebrations from the away end. 

 

Proceedings started to get feisty between the London rivals as the game went on, with Tottenham receiving their second yellow card of the game on 38 minutes as Jan Vertonghen was pulled up for pulling at the shirt of Diego Costa. 

 

This was soon forgotten about for Pochettino’s side as they doubled their lead, with Son Heung-Min scoring from his fourth shot of the game following a delightful pass from Christian Eriksen just as half-time was approaching and with Spurs firmly putting a marker on the game. The drama of the first-half wasn’t to be ended just yet, however. 

 

Danny Rose, who had already committed more fouls (3) than any other player on the pitch, made a late challenge on Willian right in front of the dugouts, which sparked a mass brawl, with Pochettino having to get involved to help separate the players. The aforementioned pair found their way into the book, taking the total of bookings in the game to four before the break. 

 

Chelsea clearly saw an opportunity in the game from then on, bringing on Eden Hazard for the second half to try and bring the gameback  into their favour. The change clearly helped, as less than five minutes after the interval the Blues pulled one back, with Gary Cahill finding the ball at his feet in the penalty area after Willian had swung a corner into a dangerous area. 

 

The tension among the Spurs players was becoming evident to see and by the 70th-minute, they had already committed 14 fouls and had seen five of their players work their way into Mark Clattenburg’s book. With 10 minutes left to play it was clear Tottenham were trying to hang on, with half-time substitute Hazard having already completed three dribbles in the match, two touches in the opposition box and had recorded a shot from outside the box. 

 

And in the 83rd-minute the Belgian left his lasting mark on the game. After breezing past two Spurs players, Hazard found Costa, who returned the ball, and at the first time of asking, Hazard found the top corner. Stamford Bridge erupted, and Martin Tyler delivered an iconic line: 

 

"He won the title for Chelsea a year ago, he might just have won the title for Leicester City tonight!" 

 

The drama would not end there though. Shortly after his goal, Hazard was wiped out by Eric Dier, and that nearly saw tensions really boil over, with Dier booked for the foul.  

 

Chelsea eventually were able to see the game out, but not before a further three more Spurs players found their way into the referee’s book, including Kane.  

 

By the end of the game, there had been 29 fouls, 20 of which were by Tottenham, with the Lilywhites receiving nine of the 12 total yellow cards, a record number of bookings for a team in a single Premier League game. 

 

 

Ultimately the result left Tottenham deflated, with Leicester officially crowned champions that night, and saw them lose their remaining two fixtures, 2-1 against Southampton and 5-1 against Newcastle. Meanwhile north London rivals Arsenal drew with Manchester City and beat Aston Villa to pip Spurs to second by a single point. 

 

That dramatic draw with Chelsea is still seen as one of the most hotly contested matches in Premier League history and is remembered by many in so many different ways. 

 

Pochettino of course remained at White Hart Lane for a further three and a half years and finished the next season in second, behind Chelsea, as well getting the club to a first ever Champions League final, although was unable to end his tenure with silverware. 

 

That fateful night in 2016 at Stamford Bridge will no doubt still be on his mind and he will want to leave his mark in west London where he and his former employers lost the league, but this time as Chelsea manager, by trying to bring the league title back to West London for the first time since 2017.

Throwback Thursday: Recalling 'Battle of the Bridge' with Pochettino set for Chelsea