Tottenham end long Chelsea wait after Penders own goal and Palmer red card

Tottenham Hotspur secured only their second away win at Chelsea in 36 years with a 2-0 Premier League victory at Stamford Bridge, where goalkeeper Mike Penders scored a costly own goal before Cole Palmer was sent off.

Roberto De Zerbi’s side followed Monday’s victory over Coventry with another league success, moving up to 12th after a difficult start to the season.

Chelsea’s defeat was their first at home against Tottenham since 2018. They were booed off at full-time and remain a work in progress under Xabi Alonso during the Spaniard’s first season in charge.

Chelsea had won their previous two league matches against Bournemouth and Everton and began the weekend in fourth place. But their latest loss extended Tottenham’s dominance in the fixture, with Spurs having won only once in their previous 41 away games against Chelsea in all competitions since 1990.

The result was Tottenham’s second victory in their past 16 league meetings with Chelsea, home and away, and their first since 2023.

Chelsea were without Joao Pedro because of a late injury, leaving Morgan Rogers to operate as their central striker. Their reshaped attack lacked sharpness, although Palmer came close early on after being set up by Rogers. His curling effort was pushed over by Antonin Kinsky.

Tottenham then applied pressure, with Omar Marmoush testing Penders after meeting Andy Robertson’s cross. Chelsea created the half’s best move through a series of quick one-touch passes, but Jordan Henderson’s low shot from the edge of the area was saved by Kinsky.

Pedro Neto also forced a near-post stop from the Tottenham goalkeeper with a powerful strike.

Spurs were dealt an early setback when James Maddison was forced off after making only his second start since May 2025. The midfielder had already missed training sessions since his long-awaited return against Coventry, making his latest injury setback a frustrating outcome of starting at Stamford Bridge.

The first half remained scrappy. Neto shot straight at Kinsky after Palmer had taken advantage of a misplaced pass from Sandro Tonali. Palmer was later booked when his run was stopped by a handball from Mateus Fernandes, before he barged into the Tottenham midfielder and sent him sliding across the wet pitch.

Tottenham took the lead in the 77th minute in bizarre fashion. Fernandes delivered an in-swinging corner that Penders should have caught, but the 21-year-old goalkeeper mistimed his attempted punch and diverted the ball into his own net.

It was Penders’ first league start, with Emiliano Martinez absent after jaw surgery.

Chelsea’s afternoon deteriorated further three minutes later when Palmer was dismissed for an ugly stamp on Conor Gallagher.

Mathys Tel completed Tottenham’s memorable win in the 87th minute. He escaped Chelsea’s static defence before driving a fine finish from the edge of the box into the bottom corner.