Spurs finally win at the Bridge again

It was not a game that will live long in the memory for its football. Both sides scrapped more than they played, and the contest tightened with every mistimed challenge until Palmer's dismissal tipped it further in Tottenham's favour. The red card came at a moment Chelsea could least afford it, with the hosts already struggling to find any rhythm against a Spurs side set up to make the afternoon as ugly as possible.

A breakthrough eight years coming

Tottenham's last win at Stamford Bridge was in 2018. Since then it has been a ground that swallowed their ambitions whole. Under Thomas Frank this is now back-to-back league wins inside a week.

Tottenham went into the fixture in the bottom half of the Premier League table after a stop-start campaign. Two wins in quick succession, even scrappy ones, start to change the conversation around a side that has looked short of answers for much of the season.

Palmer's afternoon falls apart

For Chelsea and Cole Palmer, this was about as bad as a derby can go. Palmer has been one of the Premier League's most watched attacking midfielders this season, but none of that form was on show at Stamford Bridge. His afternoon ended early with a red card, and Chelsea were left to find a way back against Tottenham with a man down and a hostile atmosphere building around them.

Roberto De Zerbi will have plenty to review from a contest his side were expected to control at home. A sending-off against your own crowd rarely helps, and it left Chelsea chasing a game they had no real control of in the first place.

Frank's Spurs and De Zerbi's next test

For Tottenham, this is a second league win in a week, something Frank can build on after a difficult start to the season. For Chelsea, the questions are more immediate: how Palmer's red card happened, and how De Zerbi responds to a home defeat in front of his own supporters.