Harry Kane headed a last-gasp equaliser to earn Tottenham Hotspur a barely-deserved 2-2 draw in a feisty Premier League Derby at Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday. Reece James seemed to have sealed the points for the hosts with a 77th-minute strike but Kane rose to head home a corner in the sixth minute of stoppage time. Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel and his Spurs counterpart Antonio Conte, a former Chelsea boss, were both shown red cards after the final whistle as tempers boiled over on a sweltering afternoon in west London.
Centre back Kalidou Koulibaly marked his home debut in style by volleying Chelsea to the front from a corner in the 19th minute and the hosts totally dominated the opening period. Chelsea remained in the ascendancy in the second half and should have had the points wrapped up but were rocked when Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg equalised in the 68th minute. Tuchel was furious that the goal was allowed, believing Kai Havertz had been fouled in the build-up, and clashed with Conte. Havertz then spurned a glorious chance to put Chelsea back in front but the hosts did reclaim their lead in the 77th minute when James fired past Hugo Lloris from a pass by Raheem Sterling — a goal that sent Tuchel joyfully racing down the touchline.
Tottenham, who began the season in optimistic fashion, could have had few complaints if they had gone home empty-handed but Kane’s late intervention means they have four points from two games, the same as Chelsea. Tottenham Hotspur have won only once in their last 38 visits to Stamford Bridge in all competitions.
Forest stun Hammers
A first-half goal from Taiwo Awoniyi was enough to earn Nottingham Forest a 1-0 victory over West Ham. This was their first victory of the new Premier League season as the City Ground hosted top-flight soccer for the first time since 1999. Awoniyi scored Forest’s first EPL goal in 23 years and it proved to be the difference as both teams had goals disallowed by VAR and West Ham captain Declan Rice had a second-half penalty saved. Spurred on by a boisterous home crowd, Forest started on the front foot and kept West Ham at bay in a frantic first half.
Xavi’s Barca fail to impress
Barcelona mortgaged its financial future to give Xavi Hernandez the talent he wanted. But Rayo Vallecano showed Xavi he still has work to do to forge a winning team after his new-look Barcelona was held to a 0-0 draw on Saturday in their Spanish league opener.
The modest club from Madrid frustrated Robert Lewandowski and his fellow Barcelona newcomers by defending well and producing the most dangerous scoring threats. As the minutes ticked by, the energy drained from the 81,000-strong Camp Nou crowd that had turned out to cheer the team.
“It is too bad because we wanted to show our fans that we are on the right path,” Xavi said. Elsewhere, Alex Baena scored a double as Villarreal eased to a 3-0 win at newly promoted Valladolid. Joselu Mato converted a penalty deep to complete Espanyol’s fightback to secure a 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo. (AP/PTI)
