Chelsea vs Tottenham ‘battle of the bridge’, Vardy’s party, and Fabregas’ hatred

Tottenham host Chelsea in the Premier League this afternoon and it’s fair to say there is no love lost between the two sides.

This weekend will mark the 170th meeting between these two London sides, with Chelsea claiming the bragging right.

The Blues have won 73 times compared to their cross-city rivals’ 55, with 41 draws altogether.

Although not all those draws are memorable, one stands out from the other in the past meetings between the teams.

The 2-2 draw on May 2, 2016 doesn’t appear remarkable at first glance. Spurs went up 2-0 at halftime with Heung-min Son and Harry Kane, before Chelsea rallied after the break by Gary Cahill (and Eden Hazard).

But there is a good reason the occasion was dubbed “The Battle of the Bridge”.

Title-chasing Spurs

Coming into the match at the back end of the 2015/16 season, only one side had something to play for.

Chelsea finished 10th in the wake of Jose Mourinho’s early-season collapse. Tottenham were second with eight points to spare after their early-season implosion under Jose Mourinho.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side had to win to keep their slim hopes of winning their first Premier League title – and first top-flight title since 1961 – alive.

If they fail to do so, the trophy will be handed to Leicester. They had already lost the title to Manchester United at Old Trafford with a draw of 1-1.

While the Blues didn’t need a win to maintain their league position in the league, they were proud of their home record against Spurs.

Tottenham had not won at Stamford Bridge since 1996. And they weren’t going to give up on that chance.

Record-breaking dirtiness

Spurs were fired up for the occasion and it definitely showed. It was clear that there was an advantage right from kickoff. Mousa Dembale led the charge in aggression.

Cesc Fabregas, John Obi Mikel and Mousa Dembele clashed just minutes before kick-off. Danny Rose joined the fun by challenging Willian.

Kane and Son fired them into the lead, but that didn’t slow down the needle off the ball.

Diego Costa was not one to shy away from a fight. He fought Jan Vertonghen before the match kicked off after Rose and Willian had joined forces.

Pochettino and coaching staff from either side piled onto the pitch to try and separate the two and a full-blown melee kicked off, with Dembele putting his fingers into Costa’s eyes.

VAR would have loved to have a field day but Mark Clattenburg, referee, only issued yellow cards.

In the second half, Erik Lamela went through Fabregas before Hazard scored from a corner.

With Spurs’ title challenge dead, they went into overdrive in injury-time.

What are your thoughts on The Battle of the Bridge, and what do you remember? Leave your comments below.

Kyle Walker flicked some snot at Costa, Kane chopped Willian with a poor tackle, Dembele continued his antics, Eric Dier escaped a red for a terrible challenge on Fabregas and Ryan Mason came off the bench to go through the back of Hazard.

Although the final whistle was blown, things weren’t over. Michel Vorm and Vertonghen took issue with Costa. Rose was right there, as the handbags were well and truly out of the tunnel.

After the chaos, Tottenham was given a Premier League record number of nine yellow cards while Chelsea received three. Costa was, however, among the offender.

Dembele was later suspended for six matches due to violent conduct. But, Spurs were not guilty.

Clattenburg’s admission

There was no miracle behind the lack of a red card in one of the dirtiest games in Premier League history, just Mark Clattenburg.

The self-declared celebrity referee failed to control the situation and allowed players to have fun with push and shove, misjudgment, and general misbehavior.

As it turned out, it was all part of Clattenburg’s hair-brained scheme to encourage drama.

“It was theatre. I went in with a game plan – that I didn’t want Tottenham blaming Mark Clattenburg that they were going to lose the title,” he told the Men In Blazers podcast in 2017.

“There should have been three red cards for Tottenham. I allowed them to self-destruct.

“All media and people around the globe declared that “Tottenham lost title”. What’s the headline if I send three players out? Clattenburg has cost Tottenham the title.

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“It was pure theatre that they self-destructed.”

He added: “I helped the game. It benefited from my style of refereeing. Some referees would have played by the book and Tottenham would have been down to seven or eight players and looking for an excuse.

“I didn’t give them an excuse because my game plan was to let them lose the title.”

Fabregas’ hatred

Fabregas copped more than his fair share of bad tackles and skullduggery from Tottenham players that day, but, in his eyes, it was all worth it.

The Spanish midfielder appeared on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football programme before the match where he was asked if there might be another twist in the title race.

“Hopefully not,” The ex-Arsenal man responded, “deadpan.” “I don’t want Spurs to win it.”

Fabregas was successful and has continued to eat at the restaurant ever since.

“Today 4 years ago we won the Premier League,” he tweeted on May 2, 2020 before following it with another saying, “For Leicester City”.

“Winning a derby can feel close to winning a trophy and it was like this when I won the Battle of the Bridge with Chelsea,” Fabregas explained for The Telegraph in June.

“Even though we had not won the game, drawing and stopping Tottenham winning the title felt similar to a trophy and I remember I went out to celebrate after the game, like I would have if we had just won the league or a cup.

“It was just one of those moments you wanted to enjoy.”

Vardy’s party

Fabregas wasn’t the only one partying after the draw: everyone associated with Leicester City was doing the same.

Jamie Vardy invited all the first team players to his Melton Mowbray home to see the match that could determine the Foxes champions.

Leicester’s players gathered in the kitchen with beers and spirits for the occasion and once Clattenburg’s whistle blew all hell broke loose.

The Athletic reported that Vardy’s television got smashed, while Wes Morgan found himself on his back being dragged around the floor by Marcin Wasilewski.

“We all had a cry,” Robert Huth spoke to the outlet. “There were certainly a few drinks. A few cigarettes as well. Certainly, it was a good time to be alive.”

After fans joined the fun outside, police and security arrived to disperse the Leicester players and staff.