SPURS 1 CHELSEA 0
Kane spot on after VAR controversy as Spurs take first-leg lead over Chelsea
Mauricio Pochettino's side held firm in the second half to put themselves in the driving seat ahead of the return clash at Stamford Bridge in a fortnight
ALL those Tottenham records are taking a tumble.
Harry Kane made sure of that after Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga took him clean out after 25 minutes.
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Even VAR could not deny him, with Kane settling this first leg from the penalty spot with a drilled first half finish.
Nothing seems to be beyond Tottenham’s match-winner.
The goalscoring obsession has taken him above Cliff Jones, into fourth on the all-time honours’ list after netting for the 160th time in his Spurs career.
He is just 106 behind the greatest of them all - Jimmy Greaves - now.
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Kane has scored in his last six outings for Spurs, moving on to 20 for the season after referee Michael Oliver turned to technology.
Kane, a man made for the big stage, made no mistake. He shoots, he scores.
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It has given Spurs the advantage, a slender lead to take to Stamford Bridge for the second leg in a couple of weeks’ time.
They have nothing to fear from this lot any more.
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Spurs are starting to have the whip hand in these fixtures.
The days of Chelsea devouring them, of dominating their north London rivals, are well and truly over.
This was another good night for Spurs.
They were on the front foot again, chipping away at this Chelsea defence as they went in search of the opener.
In Harry Winks they have a player happy to knit it all together in front of the back four.
His passing is so easy on the eye, moving it around at will and dictating the tempo from this withdrawn role.
He sets the tone for this Spurs side.
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They were up for this, demanding an early penalty when Dele’s chipped pass sent Heung Min Song scampering towards goal.
He collided with Andreas Christensen, claiming a foul when the pair of them went to ground inside the area.
Michael Oliver, with the insurance policy of VAR, ignored it. He got it right.
Spurs back for more.
There were some lovely exchanges outside the area in the build up to Kane’s over-head kick.
Son and Christian Eriksen were engineering it all, picking off Chelsea defenders before the lay-up for Trippier.
The full-back’s cross was met by the acrobatic boots of Kane, but his strike went straight into Kepa’s arms.
They got there in the end, after a crazy couple of minutes waiting for VAR to sort this mess out.
Kane was taken out by Kepa as he made his way towards goal, sent flying after the Spurs man beat the calls for offside.
Even then, Oliver was no so sure.
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He needed VAR, with the Spurs fans screaming for a penalty during the interminable delay for the decision to be made.
When he finally pointed to the spot, Kane drilled a convincing effort beyond Kepa to give Spurs the lead.
They deserved it.
Chelsea were timid, struggling to make some serious inroads into this first leg.
Sarri is playing on without a striker, using his best player as Number 9 when he should be on the wing.
Eden Hazard is entitled to feel aggrieved.
For one-off matches the false 9 has the element of surprise, but this is becoming a habit.
It is one Sarri has to break.
His other big call was to start with the Bayern Munich-bound youngster Callum Hudson-Odoi.
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He showed flashes of his potential, especially when he brought down Willian’s crossfield pass in the first half.
It was an instinctive touch, bringing it down neatly before he roamed into the penalty area.
He had the confidence to shoot on the big stage, but it was hit straight at Spurs keeper Paulo Gazzaniga.
Chelsea flickered just before the break, with N’Golo Kante clipping the outside of the post when he read Marcos Alonso’s cross.
Even so, Spurs were in control of this.
Kane was hungry for more, with Kepa turning his 51st minute effort away for a corner.
Chelsea responded, with Hazard trying to work his way into the second half.
He went in search of the ball, popping up all over the place as Chelsea tried to fashion an equaliser.
Sarri made some changes, with Pedro on for Willian and Ross Barkley on for Mateo Kovacic.
In the end the call for Olivier Giroud was irresistible, with Hudson-Odoi making way 10 minutes from time.
Giroud just wanted one chance, for Hazard or for Pedro to ping one of those glorious balls into his head.
That is Giroud’s game and always has been.
Sarri should be playing to his strengths, giving this one-dimensional Chelsea side something to focus on.
Instead they are a goal behind, beaten narrowly by the better team after Kane settled this first leg from the penalty spot.
He will up for more at Stamford Bridge, shooting on sight as he closes in on some more records.
After this, it is only a matter of time before he topples them.
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