A brace from Dele Alli inspired Tottenham to their first league win at Stamford Bridge in 28 years.

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino praised Alli for being a ‘fighter’ after a stunning performance that further damaged Chelsea’s hunt for a Champions League place.

It was not all plain sailing for Spurs though, Alvaro Morata capitalised on Hugo Lloris failing to punch clear Victor Moses’ cross, allowing the Chelsea striker to head into an empty net to give the home side the lead.

Christian Eriksen equalised just before half time through a 25 yard dipping drive that clipped the bar on its way in, giving Chelsea goalkeeper Willy Caballero little chance.

Alli then turned the tide of the match, controlling with his first touch a long ball from Eric Dier, before firing past Caballero on the run. Minutes later, the England midfielder was alert and poked the ball home following a goalmouth scramble, after Heung Son-Min had seen two shots saved.

The match winner answered his critics after failing to impress on international duty during the week, while Spurs boss Pochettino was pleased with Alli’s performance: “He has a strong character and personality and I think he doesn’t need to show nothing to us because we trust and we believe in him.”

He added: “Deli is not going to be affected if he plays or not, he’s a fighter and is very competitive and we need to help him because he didn’t play with the national team.”

The goalscorer was left on the bench in England’s most recent friendly with Italy. “He needs to compete, he needs to give his best and try to win again the trust of his manager of the national team, the only way to win the confidence of your manager and doing what he made today,” Pochettino said.

“He is only 21 years old and sometimes expectation is too much, too much pressure on his shoulders.”

Chelsea have now won just three league games in 2018, with the Antonio Conte’s side becomingly unlikely to finish in a Champions League spot.

However, the Chelsea manager believed his side tried their best in the game, “The performance has been good, especially in the first half, we score only one goal and i think we deserve to finish the first half 2-0 or 3-0.”

Last season’s Premier League champions started the better of the two sides though.

Willian twice called Lloris into action, while Marcus Alonso had a fierce drive palmed away. A clever ball from Antonio Rudiger found Moses, allowing the wing-back to give a pinpoint cross for Morata to head in his 11th goal of the season.

Chelsea continued to dominate possession, but the balance of the game swung in the visitors favour. Eriksen stung the palms of Caballero, a warning sign of shots to come.

The Spurs midfielder then capitalised on Moses failing to clear the ball deep in his own half, firing in a dipping shot that Caballero couldn’t get even a touch on.

Alli’s quick fire double mid-way through the second half put the game to bed though and continued Tottenham’s five game winning streak. Form that has seen Spurs not lose in the Premier League since 16th December.

Another positive from the game, was the return of Harry Kane.  The sight of the striker limping off with an ankle injury on 11th March against Bournemouth was a painful sight for Spurs and England fans alike.

Therefore, Kane’s 15 minute cameo was an encouraging sign that the 24 year-old could reignite his form that seen him score 39 goals in all competitions this season.

Another notable moment in the match, was Pochettino switch in tactics in the second half. Eriksen moved deeper into the midfield, while Alli went to the left and Son and Lamela switched positions. A decision that soon paved dividend with Alli scoring less than 20 minutes into the second half.

Tottenham are unbeaten in 30 Premier League games which Dele Alli has scored in. (W24, D6) #THFC pic.twitter.com/vwpcOQIwSF

— Barstool Spurs (@BarstoolSpurs) April 4, 2018

 

Pochettino was coy on the significance of the victory, “we are so happy for our fans after 28 years to win again at Stamford Bridge and it’s a massive thing for ours fans but it’s only a game and we win three points.”

On the race for the Champions League, Conte added: “we must be realistic and understand that Tottenham stay ahead of us, we have to try to do our best till the end to try in these seven games.”