Chelsea v Tottenham: 5 of the best Emirates FA Cup clashes
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2017 marks the 50th anniversary of Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur’s only FA Cup Final meeting – a game Spurs edged 2-1 at a packed-out Wembley. But it’s far from the only fantastic meeting the pair have produced in this competition.
Ladbrokes News look back at five of the finest cup clashes between this pair over the past half-century, kicking off with that final…
Chelsea 1-2 Tottenham (Final, 20 May 1967)
A crowd of 100,000 witnessed the only FA Cup Final between this pair to date, with the North London outfit edging things in an entertaining showpiece at Wembley.
Scottish winger Jimmy Robinson scored a scorching opener to give Bill Nicholson’s side a first-half lead, before the tricky Frank Saul ensured his place in Spurs folklore with a smartly-taken shot on the turn, to get the rattles waving in the Tottenham end.
Chelsea legend Bobby Tambling pulled one back in the closing minutes, but this was the Lilywhites’ day – and ensured a third FA Cup title of the decade for Bill Nicholson’s side.
Chelsea 2-3 Tottenham (Sixth Round, 6 March 1982)
Mike Fillery’s thunderous free-kick set the tone for a game of breathless excitement at the Bridge, with Keith Burkinshaw’s men eventually edging the contest.
Having gone behind, the visitors responded with a smart free-kick of their own, with Glenn Hoddle’s shot proving too hot for hosts’ stopper Steve Francis to handle, as he spilled it into the path of Alan Archibald. 1-1.
A piece of genius from that man Hoddle then put the visitors in the ascendancy, before Micky Hazard doubled the visitors’ advantage. Striker Alan Mayes grabbed one back for the Blues to set up a grandstand finish, but Tottenham held on.
Neutrals will be hoping this weekend’s meeting is every bit as entertaining.
Tottenham 0-4 Chelsea (Sixth Round, 10 March 2002)
The Blues dominated this one from the get-go, with future Spurs man William Gallas tapping home from a goalmouth scramble. Les Ferdinand did hit the post with a header before the break, but the Blues were on top for the vast majority of this contest.
Eidur Gudjohnsen doubled Chelsea’s lead just after the break, with an ice-cool finish between the legs of Lilywhites stopper Neil Sullivan.
Graeme Le Saux pounced on some lax defending five minutes later to slot home smartly, before Gudjohnsen rounded out the rout with a fourth, consigning the North London club to their heaviest home defeat in over four years.
Chelsea 3-3 Tottenham (Sixth Round, 11 March 2007)
This was the proverbial ‘game of two halves’, with Tottenham building up a 3-1 lead before half-time. Aaron Lennon slotted in Dimitar Berbatov to open the scoring, and despite Frank Lampard firing back with an equaliser, Spurs firmly regained the initiative thanks to a clumsy Michael Essien own-goal and a Hossam Ghaly strike.
However, this was a Chelsea side who never knew when they were beaten. Lampard clawed the hosts back into it with a close-range finish on 70 minutes, before Salomon Kalou volleyed home spectacularly to level the scores.
It proved a crucial comeback. The Blues won the replay, and went on to lift the cup, beating Manchester United 1-0 in the final.
Tottenham 1-5 Chelsea (Semi-Final, 15 April 2012)
Nothing could separate this pair in the Premier League during the 2011-12 campaign, with the London rivals playing out draws at both White Hart Lane (0-0) and Stamford Bridge (1-1). But it was the Blues who shone and the Lilywhites who wilted at Wembley.
It took 42 minutes for Chelsea to make the breakthrough, with Didier Drogba opening the scoring. But Juan Mata’s smart close-range effort made it 2-0 after the break, only for Gareth Bale to reduce the deficit to one.
But this one went from tight game to tonking in the final 15 minutes of play. Ramires finished off a superb team move to make it 3-1, before a stunning Lampard free-kick and an injury time goal from Malouda capped off an unforgettable day for the West London club.
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