“It would always boil over. A couple of times it went out of hand but the players are fighting for points and titles. It’s emotions – it’s football.”
- Advertisement -
This is how Chelsea captain John Terry described his side’s meeting with Tottenham Hotspur on 2 May 2016. It is safe to say that Terry hit the nail on the head with it, but to truly understand the game, you must first understand the Premier League landscape. League then.
The 2015/16 campaign was a blur for the majority of English football fans. Almost all the teams in the top flight had been hugely disappointing. Chelsea finished in tenth place, Liverpool was in eighth, Manchester United in fifth and Manchester City caught in fourth place. No one knew what was happening, and Leicester City were there to strike back.
? ️ #OTD 2016
Leicester were confirmed Premier League champions in 2015/16 after Tottenham were held to a 2-2 draw against Chelsea in the infamous “Battle of the Bridge”
?????????
Tottenham’s nine yellow cards in the draw remain a Premier League record to this day pic.twitter.com/uSTHwOpsLb
– WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) May 2, 2020
The foxes were the season’s surprise package, and they just could not be stopped. When it looked like a bad result would derail the season, other teams lost points and allowed Leicester to retain their advantage.
Claudio Ranieri’s men had been absolutely inspiring. Like Jamie Vardy, N’Golo Kanté, Riyad Mahrez and Danny Drinkwater all turned out to be top stars. No one thought they would continue to win the title, but with three games left, they were seven points away from second-placed Spurs.
Leicester’s 36th game of the season came on Sunday, May 1, and they fought to a 1-1 draw with United. That meant the Spurs had to win each of their last three games to even have a chance to win the title. First up was a trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea.
Pochettino and Hiddink have no idea what would happen Catherine Ivill – AMA / Getty Images
This should have been an easy win for Spurs. They played some of the best footballs in their recent history, while Chelsea were at the lowest point they had been since Roman Abramovich’s arrival in 2003.
José Mourinho had been fired as manager and Guus Hiddink was brought in as his replacement. The Dutchman’s job was just to stabilize the ship, because the season was already a write-off for Chelsea. They had nothing but pride to play for.
However, there was an extra incentive for Chelsea. If they stopped winning Spurs, it would stop their narrow hopes of lifting the Premier League trophy.
? “It’s boiled over, it’s an emotional night, fans and players it’s what it’s about”
John Terry reflected on Battle of the Bridge 2016 when Chelsea met Tottenham pic.twitter.com/etLCfLaf0e
– Football Daily (@footballdaily) October 10, 2020
The Blues were without goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois through suspension, while Eden Hazard was dropped on the bench after recently overcoming a hip injury. All indications are that Spurs would overwhelm them.
That seemed to be the case early in the game. Spurs; high-speed approach gave them many chances to open the scoring, and they did so after 34 minutes. Érik Lamela’s consistent ball left Harry Kane one-on-one with Asmir Begović, and the Spurs man rounded the goalkeeper and knocked home to give his side the edge.
It was 2-0 just a few minutes later. Son Heung-min worked his way through Chelsea’s defense to shoot past Begovic, and the blues looked on their feet.
Son pushes Tottenham in the lead | Catherine Ivill – AMA / Getty Images
With Chelsea clearly devastated at not being able to stop Spurs’ title push, tension began to boil over on the pitch just before half-time. Willian was caught by Danny Rose’s arm near the touchline, and the Brazilian responded by squaring off against Rose.
Mauricio Pochettino stepped into the field to separate the two men, and the two teams also joined in to create a much smaller fight. However, things escalated quite quickly when midfielder Mousa Dembélé was seen tearing Diego Costa in the eye, but the referee obviously did not see it as no further action was taken.
Both Rose and Willian were booked and Rose went with teammates Kyle Walker and Jan Vertonghen in the referee’s notebook before the break.
Hiddink was clearly not prepared to go to bed for his tough rivals and took Hazard off the bench at half time. The Belgian magician has a way of changing games, and that’s exactly what he did.
Hazard was imperious from the bench | BEN STANSALL / Getty Images
Lamela got booked early in the second half for an evil challenge before Chelsea withdrew a goal. After 57 minutes, a mistake by the home side’s left defense allowed Gary Cahill to get through. Suddenly, the Blues had a renewed sense of optimism, while there was real fear among Spurs players that this might not be their night.
The two sides exchanged chances, but no one could find a way through. Christian Eriksen received a yellow card after 82 minutes for unsportsmanlike behavior.
Then Hazard arose.
A fantastic one-two with Costa, Hazard gifted a clear path in goal, and his first time slid beautifully away from Hugo Lloris and into the top corner to equalize the score line. Advantage Leicester.
#OnThisDay 2016Eden Hazard finishes Tottenham’s title jump in absolute classic at Stamford Bridge. ??
pic.twitter.com/HkJmZdwu1b
– Hazardista (@ Hazardista__10) May 2, 2020
Spurs started to look like a side that knew they had thrown everything away. All calm was discarded when they began to express their frustrations physically.
Lamela, who was already on a yellow card, seemed to go out of his way to stamp on Cesc Fàbrega’s hand, but this was also missed by the referee. But that was just the beginning.
A terribly late challenge from Eric Dier on Hazard left the Chelsea squad furious. It was the tackle from a man who lost his head, and the blues did not. A fight ensued, with both Dier and John Obi Mikel showing yellow cards.
Kane made a similar attack on Willian moments later, before Dembélé hit the ball on the Brazilian on the ground. Kane was booked after another fight, and Dier triggered another just a few seconds later with a second horrible tackle on Fàbregas who in no way was considered another yellow.
The tackles flew in | BEN STANSALL / Getty Images
Ryan Mason joined the yellow card game with his own terrible outcome on Hazard. He grabbed the Belgian neck when Hazard stood up to complain, but was again allowed to remain on the pitch.
The full time whistle blew shortly after, but believe it or not, the fun was not over yet.
Pochettino and Fàbregas collided when the players left the pitch, so Hiddink did his best to lead the Spaniard down the tunnel. Tempers flared up as more players became involved, and 69-year-old Hiddink ended up being pushed down a small flight of stairs in the excavation.
Unsurprisingly, Chelsea were furious, and they all rushed to protect their boss and confront Pochettino and the rest of the Spurs squad. The hot-haired Costa was in the middle of it all (as usual), and he had to be held back from all angles when he looked ready to start swinging.
There was a fight as the players went down the tunnel full time | Catherine Ivill – AMA / Getty Images
Fortunately, things calmed down and Hiddink was unharmed, and the two teams were quickly forced down the tunnel to put an end to one of the worst games we’ve ever seen. Spurs title push was over and Leicester were champions.
Spurs ended the match with nine yellow cards, while Chelsea added three of their own through Willian, Branislav Ivanović and Mikel, in what was one of the ugliest football games in Premier League history.
It was a game that will be remembered for almost everything except the actual football, and there is no chance that it will be forgotten anytime soon.
For more from Tom Gott, follow him on Twitter!
