Tagline: Festive fireworks in North London as Chelsea tear Tottenham apart in a 10-goal Boxing Day spectacle.
Under cold December skies, Stamford Bridge’s travelling faithful were treated to a performance of unfiltered attacking theatre. Chelsea, irrepressible and merciless, smashed seven past Tottenham to claim an astonishing 7–3 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
It began almost instantly — Nacho Valera, sharp as frost, turned home Haigh’s cross inside five minutes. By nine, McKauley Civzelis had made it two. Valera’s brace on 29 minutes and a third on 36 completed a hat-trick before half-time, punctuated only by Jermaine McLellan’s reply for Spurs.
The second half was a continuation of carnage. Civzelis’ second of the match arrived on 62 minutes before Joseph Haigh made it seven with a fine finish in the 81st. Tottenham clawed back late consolation goals through Ekwalla and Shushan, but the contest was long over — Chelsea were playing jazz; Spurs were gasping for rhythm.
Haigh, awarded a perfect 10.0, conducted from the wings — one goal, three assists, nine key passes, and the kind of energy that drags teammates forward. Valera’s treble and Civzelis’ brace carried the story, but the harmony behind them — Rogerio José, Franco, and Jairzinho — was pure orchestration.
Guardiola, standing in for manager Calin Dimario, hailed the team’s composure post-match: “It lifts morale and gives us a slight edge every time we meet,” he said, barely suppressing a smile.
With this, Chelsea’s eighteenth consecutive league win cements their place at the summit with 58 points — a campaign of artistry and annihilation rolled into one. Tottenham, meanwhile, slip to 14th, their own festive spirit extinguished beneath an avalanche of blue brilliance.