London Derby headlines second week of football

LONDONDERBY

London Derby headlines second week of football

Image via Getty Images

It is now the season’s second week for many European leagues, including the Premier League in England. The new season is off to an exciting start, but what occurred on Sunday in London may be just the beginning of an eventful season.

This past Sunday featured one of the top derbies in England, specifically in London involving Chelsea and Tottenham at Stamford Bridge. Even though the Tottenham-Chelsea derby may not be on the same level as the Chelsea-Arsenal or Manchester United-Liverpool derby, the London Derby is still a well-established match-up in England.

This match was one of the best matches of 2022 and already the best match of the season. This match had everything you would want; goals, physicality, an electric atmosphere, and tension, especially tension.

The match started with the first goal coming from Senegalese center-back for Chelsea, Kalidou Koulibaly, off a powerful strike that came off a corner kick from Spanish left-back Marc Cucurella, putting the Blues up 1-0, which was the only goal of the first half.

Tension begins to rise on the touchlines between Tottenham manager Antonio Conte (left) and Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel (right) as Tottenham ties the match at one (Image via Rex)

Tottenham tied the match up in the second half as Danish midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg put the ball in the back of the net from outside the box, making it 1-1. After the goal, however, the tension started to rise between the two sides as former Chelsea, and current Tottenham manager Antonio Conte and Chelsea Manager Thomas Tuchel would get right in each other’s faces as the derby continued to heat up.

Later in the 77th minute, Chelsea winger Raheem Sterling would find right-back Reece James speeding his way into the penalty box as he put the ball past Lloris to make it 2-1 for Chelsea. After the goal, Tuchel stormed down the touchlines right past Conte to celebrate his team going up.

While it seemed like Chelsea may have won this match, Tottenham had other plans. First, English star striker Harry Kane would ball in the net off a header courtesy of a corner kick from Croatian winger Ivan Perisic in the second half’s fifth minute of a six-minute stoppage time. This would not only tie the game for Tottenham but also secure them a point while snatching three points away from their London rivals.

After the match, tension began to rise as Conte and Tuchel walked toward each other for a handshake post-game. Then, however, it started to get ugly as both managers got into each other’s faces again, forcing officials and players to get involved in separating both managers just in case things escalated more.

Both Conte and Tuchel were given red cards while the two were still going at it, meaning they will be banned from being on the touchlines for their club’s games next week and possibly further since both managers may face further discipline.

Part one of the London Derby in the 2022-23 season ended up being an all-time classic. It was an early treat for football fans worldwide, making the next match-up between the two clubs even more exciting. The London Derby match-up will continue to heat up as long as Conte and Tuchel stay with their clubs.

Post a Comment