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SEMI-FINAL SIGNIFICANT FOR AN ALTOGETHER DIFFERENT REASON
SEMI-FINAL SIGNIFICANT FOR AN ALTOGETHER DIFFERENT REASON
Tottenham can put jitters up Chelsea
Nobody likes to admit it, but it is true. Yes it is one of the biggest domestic cup competitions in Europe, but that means little when the rest of the continent shares the sentiment; those of a romantic disposition avert your eyes – the FA Cup isn’t what it once was.
Once the initial cries of “sacrilege” die down, this is common knowledge, with dwindling crowds and opportunity to rest players ahead of more important league matches full utilised by managers evidence of such a feeling, but Saturday sees a return to a FA Cup semi-final that means a huge amount to both teams and their supporters strolling up Wembley Way, even if cup glory is not what they’d dreamt about the night before.
We have a Premier League title race. Where it has come from is anyone’s guess, having looked such a foregone conclusion for so long, but with just four points now separating Chelsea and Tottenham, and the Blues looking more than fallible in recent weeks, broadcasters are jumping for joy that the tedium of the top four race won’t be the only pull in the final weeks of the season. Victory for Spurs on Saturday over their bitter rivals Chelsea will do more than earn a cup final spot – momentum would be theirs at the pivotal time.
Spurs’ relentlessness in recent weeks is the main reason we have a title race once again. While Chelsea have stuttered, losing two of their last four, while not entirely convincing in many of their recent victories, the White Hart Lane juggernaut is gathering breakneck speed. It seems the only thing that could stop them sweeping to title glory is lack of remaining fixtures. Such form has not gone unnoticed.
Chelsea showed vulnerability Spurs can exploit
“I think Tottenham are now the best team,” Chelsea boss Antonio Conte eulogies this week. “They are in good form and they have a lot of enthusiasm. They are feeling the possibility to write history and it is important for us to know this.”
While much of this can be put to mind games, in the same bracket as Mauricio Pochettino rebuffing by proclaiming a top four finish would be a success, there was a feeling of real apprehension in Conte’s tone. Spurs are not just winning, they are blowing opponents away.
The Italian has every right to be wary of the Spurs behemoth. 12 home league wins in a row represents Tottenham’s best return for a Premier League season with two games left, while seven league wins in a row home and away, scoring 20 and conceding just four in the process, would unsettle even the most supremely confident.
What’s more, Crystal Palace and Manchester United exposed flaws in Chelsea that a team like Spurs, with all their attacking exuberance can punish.
Conte has drawn the plaudits for his tactical acumen this campaign, making some astute signings in the positions he needed to strengthen, and fitting the system around the strengths of his squad.
Much of the Blues’ penetration has come through their marauding wing-backs, with the solid back three able to cope with the lone striker – the weapon of choice for most teams in the Premier League – with relative ease.
Have Conte’s tactics been worked out?
Palace and United mixed it up, went with two strikers, who pulled that back three all over the place, and exploited the fact that the Blues had one of their key wing-backs missing in both fixtures.
Pedro proved an unsuitable deputy for Victor Moses in the Palace defeat, as Wilfried Zaha caused Conte’s men all sorts of problems, while the less mobile Cesar Azpilicueta offered very little as an attacking weapons at Old Trafford last weekend.
Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son – all four are in form, interchangeable, and hungry for success. This isn’t the same Spurs that lost their head in the Battle of the Bridge last season, Pochettino has ensured they have matured into a top side.
Wembley represents a chance to make a statement – this is a team that will regularly challenge for the title, not a flash in the pan. There is a place in the final at stake, but that is secondary to the lasting effect a convincing victory can do. Psychologically, this could be the moment that spurs Tottenham on to Premier League glory.