London derbies between Chelsea and Tottenham hold special reverence in the eyes of many neutrals because it's so synonymous with controversy, drama and – arguably above all else – aggro.
If Todd Boehly never attends another match at Stamford Bridge, he'll be safe in the knowledge that this contest had more than enough drama than 99 per cent of other Chelsea games.
Chelsea's new owner was attending his first home game since the pre-season takeover, and he was treated to an absolute thriller – though he'll ultimately have been frustrated by the Blues' inability to claim all three points as Spurs somehow stole a draw.
But the result, a 2-2 tie, only tells half the story of a gripping contest.
Of course, reminders of the respective situations of the clubs over the past few months was difficult to avoid in the build-up, with even Thomas Tuchel alluding to it in his pre-match press conference on Friday.
While Spurs made some key signings in January, finished the season well and then quickly went about more impressive transfer business in pre-season, Chelsea have had to contend with rather more uncertainty.
After being impacted by the United Kingdom's sanctions against Russian individuals and companies, which of course included then-owner Roman Abramovich, Chelsea couldn't even sell club merchandise to fans.
The £4.25billion takeover by the consortium led by Boehly ushered in a new era, but even then it's difficult to say it's all been plain-sailing since – the American and his partners have ripped up the club's hierarchy and he's made himself interim sporting director, and his movements in the market have attracted ridicule.
From missing out on a host of key targets to spending £62million on Marc Cucurella, they've hardly emitted an aura stability.
Fitting, then, that Chelsea fans welcomed Boehly to the Bridge on Sunday with a Madness-inspired tifo. An adapted display of the band's iconic One Step Beyond album cover – of which the title song is widely associated with the Blues – was unfurled depicting Boehly and his counterparts, and below it a second banner read 'Welcome to the House of Fun'.
Its message rang true as well. While Chelsea may not have beaten their visitors, there was a lot to like about the Blues' performance, and fun it certainly was.
Chelsea were particularly dominant in a first half that saw their intensity and fluidity suffocate Spurs at times. Mason Mount's roaming caused no end of problems, while the movement of Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz helped ensure the visitors' midfield was forced to sit especially deep.
Then, behind them, Jorginho was at the top of his game, pulling the strings and helping to keep the hosts on the front foot with his expertise in such controlling roles.
As a result, Spurs struggled to gain a foothold in midfield and the front three were anonymous, which proved particularly problematic after Chelsea took a 19th-minute lead.
As if it was written, in front of the man responsible for buying them, two new signings combined for the first Stamford Bridge goal of the new era – and what a goal it was.
Cucurella's outswinging corner picked out Kalidou Koulibaly in space at the back of the area and the centre-back met it with an outrageous volley that spun off his foot and flew past the helpless Hugo Lloris.
Chelsea's issue was building on that lead. Dominant they remained until the second half, but another goal proved elusive and Spurs grew in prominence.
First, Edouard Mendy denied Son Heung-min just after the break, and then Harry Kane – without a goal in his previous five Premier League clashes with Chelsea – missed the target with only the goalkeeper to beat.
A pot shot from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg proved just the ticket, however. Jorginho, who until then was exceptional, was guilty of over-playing in his own box, and within seconds Spurs' Danish midfielder drilled into the bottom-left corner from 25 yards.
That seemed to bring everything to life. Immediately Conte's roaring celebration towards the Chelsea bench sparked a furious clash between the two sets of staff, with the Italian and Tuchel – who was angry with the failure to award the Blues a free-kick in the build-up – grappling with each other.
The spirit of the famous 2016 Battle of the Bridge had been mostly absent, but that moment showed it was merely looming in the shadows, waiting, and it made what Chelsea thought was the winner even sweeter for Tuchel.
Evoking memories of Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford while in charge of Porto, Tuchel hurtled down the touchline – right past Conte – after Reece James beat Lloris for his strike in the 77th minute.
Chelsea were in control again and seemed to be heading for the win, but right at the end of stoppage time a glancing Kane header was diverted in by James, rescuing a well-earned – if fortuitous – point.
While the football ceased with the full-time whistle, the action did not. Tuchel refused to let go of Conte as they shook hands, sparking another melee as both bosses were ultimately shown red cards.
This occasion may not have had the 12 yellow cards of the first Battle of the Bridge, but the amusing petulance and antagonising went some way to filling that void, with Boehly truly given a fitting welcome to the House of Fun.
Carragher says Liverpool may need to move on from Salah and Nunez
Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool's next manager has a big decision to make regarding Mohamed Salah's future, adding the Reds definitely need to move on from Darwin Nunez.
Liverpool's title hopes suffered a potentially fatal blow at Goodison Park on Wednesday, as goals from Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin handed Everton a memorable 2-0 win.
The defeat – Liverpool's first at Goodison since 2010 – means they are three points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal and one clear of Manchester City, who have two games in hand.
Jurgen Klopp now looks likely to end his final season at the helm with just February's EFL Cup triumph to show for his efforts, with Carragher declaring Liverpool's title hopes to be over on Wednesday.
He also believes Klopp's successor – which could be Feyenoord's Arne Slot if reports are to be believed – may need to shake up Liverpool's frontline.
"Mo Salah is Liverpool's goalscorer and he's gone off the boil. That's shone a light on others," Carragher told Sky Sports.
"There is a real discussion for the new manager about what the future holds for Mo Salah – it's the first time we've asked that question. He only has a year to go on his deal.
"He's looked a shadow of himself for a lot of this season but especially since he's come back from injury. He is Liverpool's legend, superstar, one of the all-time greats, but he's been so far off it."
Salah has 17 Premier League goals this season, but 14 of those came before he went to the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt in January.
Prior to that tournament, Salah boasted a shot conversion rate of 21.54 per cent for 2023-24, netting with 14 of his 65 total attempts in the competition. Since returning, he has only converted 8.57 per cent of his 35 efforts.
Salah's strike partner Nunez has also come in for criticism, with only Erling Haaland (30) missing more big chances than the Uruguayan's 26 this term. Haaland has, however, converted 34.78 per cent of his big chances to Nunez's 18.75 per cent.
Carragher does not believe Nunez is capable of further improvement after two up-and-down campaigns on Merseyside, saying: "I think I'm at the stage with Nunez where I'm not sure there's a question to ask.
"You want him to do well because he gives everything, he causes trouble, he gets the odd goal.
"But after two years, when Liverpool are going for the title or in big games, you need your man to score at Old Trafford or at Goodison Park. This is the business end, the time to win.
"He's ground to a halt. After two years there's going to be no improvement in him. This is what he is.
"He can cause trouble but he's erratic with his finishing – it's not enough to win you trophies so there's a big decision to be made on him. It's not acceptable when you're going for a title."
Guardiola insists Man City share same title hunger as challengers
Pep Guardiola insists Manchester City share the same hunger to lift the Premier League trophy as their title rivals, warning perfection may still be needed for the champions to retain their crown.
It has been a mixed week for City's rivals thus far, with Arsenal thrashing Chelsea 5-0 on Tuesday before Liverpool suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat in Wednesday's Merseyside derby at Everton.
Those results mean the Gunners sit four points clear of City and Liverpool lead the champions by one, but with two games in hand, the title race is still very much in City's hands.
They go to Brighton and Hove Albion on Thursday before facing Nottingham Forest on Sunday, and Guardiola still thinks even the slightest slip-up could prove costly.
Asked whether City need to win their six remaining games to win the title, Guardiola said: "Yes, absolutely. They gave us a chance, with the fact they lost last week to Aston Villa and Crystal Palace.
"But we knew what we had to do before those games, and now we have to win all games so that at the end, we have it in our hands to retain our title.
"Nothing changes. The fact is, we knew what we had to do before, and now nothing has changed."
Guardiola was then asked whether City are as motivated to win the title as their rivals, having lifted the trophy in five of their seven seasons under him to date.
He said: "I would not be here [if not]. There are so many games, and to be in this position after what we have done in the past, it would not be possible [without the desire].
"We know the difficulty is extreme, and it will remain difficult because we have tough games coming up. We go one game at a time, and we know that if we lose, it will be so tough to retain the title.
"Last Saturday proved the many difficulties we have, especially the schedule and recovery time after the game against [Real] Madrid. The players were unbelievable."
Guardiola hit out at the busy nature of the schedule after Saturday's FA Cup semi-final win over Chelsea, saying he couldn't understand how his players had managed to perform just three days after their penalty shoot-out defeat to Madrid.
Those comments have sparked renewed debate about the football calendar, and Guardiola was asked whether elite clubs had a right to complain while organising money-spinning pre-season tours around the globe.
"Yeah, but we have to do it," he said. "We have to pay the salaries of the players and the manager, and the club has fans all around the world who want to see us. They are an income for us.
"It's not easy, but we have to get resources. I would love to say don't go to another continent to play, have another week of holiday, and then train here. But we have to understand the club.
"It's not just Man City. Every club needs those financial resources to be sustainable. Now that we've won a lot, for many years, we have a lot of supporters. That's why it's necessary to do, and you have to adapt.
"But that is not the reason why [he complained]. The reason is that the schedule is so tight. I'm sorry, it's not."
Xavi commits U-turn and elects to stay at Barcelona
Barcelona head coach Xavi will continue in his role next season after an unexpected reversal of his decision to leave at the end of the 2023-24 campaign, according to widespread reports.
The former Barcelona midfielder announced in January that he would walk away from the job at the end of the current season, even though his contract was due to run until the end of the following term.
Xavi acknowledged the Barcelona role had taken its toll but reportedly changed his plans after a meeting with Blaugrana president Joan Laporta on Wednesday.
The 44-year-old was initially appointed as Barca coach in 2021 before leading the LaLiga giants to the top-flight title in the 2022-23 campaign.
Xavi's initial announcement of his intentions to depart Barcelona came after a tough period following defeats to Girona, Real Madrid and Athletic Club before revealing the news in the aftermath of a 5-3 loss to Villarreal.
The Blaugrana turned their fortunes around after that decision became public, though, going 13 games unbeaten across all competitions.
Unsurprisingly, that run encouraged Laporta, vice president Rafa Yuste and sporting director Deco to plead with Xavi to continue until the end of his agreed contract.
Though that undefeated streak ended with a 4-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain that dumped Barcelona out of the Champions League quarter-finals, Xavi has now agreed to stay in his role.
The league title is almost out of reach this term, however, as Real Madrid moved 11 points clear of second-placed Barca with Sunday's 3-2 Clasico victory.
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