LONDON: Harry Kane headed in a last-gasp equaliser to earn Tottenham Hotspur a barely-deserved 2-2 draw in a feisty Premier League derby at Chelsea that ended with both managers being shown red cards after the final whistle on Sunday.
Kane glanced home Ivan Perisic’s corner in the sixth minute of stoppage time to salvage a point for the visitors who have now won only once in their last 38 visits to Stamford Bridge.
It sparked chaotic scenes on the touchline where Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel and his Spurs counterpart Antonio Conte clashed for the second time on a sweltering afternoon.
“There’s no hard feelings – I feel like it was a fair tackle from him and a fair tackle from me,” Tuchel said.
“We did not insult each other, we did not hit each other, we were fighting for our teams.”
Reece James seemed to have sealed the points for the dominant hosts with a 77th-minute strike after Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg had equalised for Tottenham in the 68th minute.
Centre back Kalidou Koulibaly marked his home debut in style by volleying Chelsea in front from a corner in the 19th minute and the hosts totally dominated the opening period.
Chelsea wasted several chances to increase their lead with Raheem Sterling blazing one chance over and it was easy to understand Tuchel’s frustration when Hojbjerg levelled.
Tuchel raged at the referee, insisting Kai Havertz had been fouled in the build-up and that Richarlison had been standing in an offside position. He also clashed with Conte, earning both of them yellow cards.
Havertz spurned a glorious chance to put Chelsea back in front but the hosts reclaimed their lead when the excellent James fired past Hugo Lloris from a pass by Raheem Sterling – Tuchel joyfully racing down the touchline in celebration.
KANE NEARS RECORD
Tuchel’s mood darkened though as Kane snatched a draw with his 42nd goal in London derbies – one behind the record of former Arsenal forward Thierry Henry.
Tuchel and Conte lost their heads after an aggressive handshake and had to separated by their coaching staff.
Chelsea and Tottenham, who finished third and fourth respectively last season, both have four points from two games.
“I thought when we shake hands you looked in each others’ eyes; he had a different opinion. It was not necessary but a lot of things were not necessary,” Tuchel said.
“We dominated for 90 minutes. We were sharp, we were hungry, it was a top performance. I’m sorry for all my players that we didn’t get the result we deserved.”
Tottenham arrived full of confidence but were second-best for most of the game after allowing Koulibaly the freedom of the penalty area to volley superbly past Lloris.
Conte’s side could not make inroads and Chelsea were faster and sharper, with Mason Mount close to scoring and Ruben Loftus-Cheek inches away from putting in a header before halftime.
It was a similar story after the break with Loftus-Cheek looking poised to score after a storming run into the area, seconds before Sterling missed a sitter.
Kane wasted Tottenham’s best opportunity on a rare counter-attack but Tottenham levelled when Chelsea’s Jorginho lost the ball in the area and Hojbjerg drilled a shot inside the post.
It seemed Tuchel would have the last laugh when Chelsea cut through Tottenham’s defence for James to beat Lloris but it was Tottenham who went home happier thanks to Kane.
“Stamford Bridge hasn’t been our best place over the years so to come away with a point especially at the end was a good feeling,” Kane said.
“It’s disappointing to see the red cards. Obviously it was an emotional game, London derby, the passion from both sides, both teams wanted to win.”
