Chelsea showing winning mettle

LONDON • Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel looked far from happy as his side were second-best for 45 minutes of Sunday's English Premier League London derby at Tottenham but his half-time "talk" and a key substitution again underlined his dramatic impact at Stamford Bridge.

With the score at 0-0, the German hauled off the ineffective Mason Mount at the interval and sent on N'Golo Kante for his first action since being injured at Liverpool on Aug 28.

The 2018 World Cup winner with France immediately gave Chelsea control of the midfield battle and his goal was sandwiched between strikes by Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger as the hosts ran riot after the break.

The 3-0 win lifted the unbeaten Blues level top with Liverpool on 13 points from five games, affirming their title credentials.

Asked to explain the marked difference between his side's performance before and after half-time, Tuchel said he had spoken to his players during the break about their attitude and intensity - and how he expects nothing less than the highest level for both criteria.

"We did not change the system, but maybe that's the whole point," he added.

"We just changed the system with more belief, more quality, sharper. We relied on skilful play in the first half and we forgot to bring the right attitude to this game.

"We had the feeling every 50-50 duel went against us and that had to change. If you have N'Golo on the bench and you want to step up these patterns of the game, he's the player you bring. The reaction was needed and we showed it. We played a very strong second half to deserve this win."

He also described Kante as a "unique player" and the fact he is now back from injury augurs well for a Chelsea side that appear to have no visible weaknesses right across the pitch.

"He's a top player. If you have N'Golo, you have something everyone is looking for," Tuchel, whose side had 14 attempts on goal in the second half, said.

The European champions are the pundits' favourites to win the Premier League for the first time since 2017 and having already played at Arsenal, Liverpool and now Tottenham, and passing those tests, Chelsea look increasingly ominous.

For Spurs, it was all depressingly familiar as their horrendous Premier League record against Chelsea was extended to 32 defeats and only seven wins in 59 meetings.

The sight of another low-key display by star striker Harry Kane will also be a worry for manager Nuno Espirito Santo, with just four shots taken this term.

The England captain, whose desire to leave Spurs in the summer was well documented, looked subdued and this the first time since the 2015-16 season he has failed to score in his first four Premier League appearances of a season.

Nuno tried to take heart from the first half but, after back-to-back 3-0 defeats in the league, the early optimism of his reign is evaporating.

The Portuguese said: "It was tough. First half, we played well and at half-time we were confident and we had a lot of belief. Once we went 1-0 down to a sloppy goal, it's a bit of a mountain against a team like this.

"It could have gone either way in the first half, but if you don't punish them, you can be punished and that is what happened today."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS