Former Chelsea defender Gary Cahill says his former side will gain momentum from their hard-fought win against sworn rival Tottenham on Thursday night.
Enzo Fernandez scored the only goal of the game, jumping ahead of everyone to meet an inch-perfect cross from Cole Palmer to give Chelsea the lead in the 50th minute which eventually became the win.
The three points takes the Blues back to fourth in the league table, pushing current champions Manchester City to fifth and knocking League Cup winners Newcastle down to sixth.
After the game at Stamford Bridge, Cahill said Chelsea needed this win to breathe life into their campaign:
That was a massive win, and the team needed it. They needed to show they could beat Tottenham, and there was pressure here, so for them to do it is massive.
Despite facing heavy criticism, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is on course to be regarded as one of the best since the club's owners took over in May 2022.
If he can secure Champions League football, which would be massive for the club, and win the Europa Conference League, then many will not oppose him staying beyond this season.
Look, it’s hard for me to say if they will go on and stay there, but there is no doubt that this will do them a world of good and possibly help them get a positive end to the campaign.
Chelsea defender Levi Colwill, who has been ever-present in the team, also paid tribute to the home fans. Chelsea needed their vociferous support to help them get across the line.
They had seen a brilliant Moisés Caicedo strike ruled out by VAR for the slightest offside call, and hearts were in mouths when Tottenham substitute Pape Matar Sarr scored from 20 yards in what would have been an undeserved equaliser.
But Colwill told reporters after the game:
Three points mean everything, especially in the derby. Anything can happen in this derby, and they are a good team, so we had to step it up.
The fans gave us the emotion, and we felt everything with them. It was an amazing place to play tonight. It lifted us. In the last 10 minutes, when things got tough, our supporters gave us the energy to keep going. Had the match kept going for another 10 minutes, they would’ve kept giving us that energy.
We would have run and given them every single thing we had. We felt in control, even though Tottenham may have had chances or had the ball. With the added time, we knew we had to keep going for another 12 minutes. Like I said, the fans pushed us and made that easy for us.
Former striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was also full of praise for returning striker Nicolas Jackson, who provided Chelsea with a threat up front despite not scoring.
The game was Jackson’s first in two months as he recovered from an injury to take his spot in the starting lineup. Hasselbaink said after the game:
It’s important for the team; he [Jackson] brings a lot of energy. He gives them something else they don’t have. Yes, he needs to get better at converting his chances, but he’s creating his own chances a lot of the time. He’s putting defenders on the back foot, and that’s what they’ve missed. It’s important to have him back.
