They say that lightning doesn't strike twice, but once again Tottenham Hotspur played host to a controversial if captivating display of Premier League mayhem, only this time they felt the violent glare of the referee's red card.
Indeed, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium welcomed two early baths to one team in a single match for the second time in little over one month, but this time it was the visitors who benefitted from Spurs' reduction to nine men, leaving Chelsea in the driving seat to surge into a late 4-1 lead despite a stoic home display.
It was a game of immense havoc, in so many ways epitomising the enthralling nature of the Premier League, but in others marring a compelling spectacle through shocking challenges and contentious calls.
Spurs previously defeated Liverpool in a match of a similar scenario, part of a run that propelled Ange Postecoglou's side into a table-topping position.
That has now ended with a heavy – and flattering – victory for Mauricio Pochettino's Chelsea, but Postecoglou will take great solace from his outfit's fighting spirit and fluid tenacity, crafting glorious opportunities to restore unlikely parity late into the affair, before Nicolas Jackson added to his 75th-minute strike to complete a hat-trick.
It was a scoreline that Tottenham need not rue for too long, this was a match of circumstance, a contest of attrition that Spurs had tantalised achieving with flying colours, before Destiny Udogie's dismissal after half-time exacerbated the quandary arising from Cristian Romero's sending off and Cole Palmer's subsequent leveller from the penalty spot.
The poignant part of the whole encounter stems from the hosts' blistering start, soaring into an early lead after Dejan Kulusevski's deflected effort careered off Levi Colwill and past the hapless Robert Sanchez.
Dominance was preserved and Heung-min Son thought he'd doubled the advantage but for the cruel intervention of VAR, which also, in fairness, chalked off strikes from Chelsea's Raheem Sterling and Moises Caicedo.
At the end of the day, Spurs fell to defeat, but the position remains one of power and promise, and with Guglielmo Vicario's rock-solid presence between the sticks, Spurs have the man to lead the push for prominence from the back.
Guglielmo Vicario's stats vs Chelsea
When Tottenham signed Vicario from Atalanta for an initial fee of £17m, viewed as the long-term successor to stalwart Hugo Lloris in goal, it was met with varied response, but he has proved himself to be among the finest in the division thus far, with a statement performance against the Blues underscoring his value.
Vicario, aged 27, was immense and proved his worth against Chelsea despite shipping four, an unflappable force who highlighted the qualities that Daniel Levy and his transfer team saw when considering a swoop this summer.
Saves
3
Run out (succ.)
6/6
Touches
53
Pass completion
64%
Duels won
1
Clearances
5
Sourced via Sofascore
No goalkeeper in the English top-flight boasts a better save percentage than Vicario's 82.9% this season, as per FBref; the metrics-based site also records the £75k-per-week stopper to rank among the top 5% of goalkeepers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for save percentage.
The Athletic's Tim Spiers even remarked that the Italian was "playing like the spirit of Lev Yashin", such was the magnitude of his brilliant sweeping display. Tottenham played with an obscenely high line, even when down to nine men, and it could have been six or seven Chelsea goals but for the goalkeeper who was relentless in coming out of his box to stifle attacks.
Romero and Udogie aside, it was a resounding demonstration of renewed cohesion, and Vicario was at the heart of it, and while the shot-stopping ace highlighted his ability, the performance of Pedro Porro down the right channel must not go unnoticed either.
Pedro Porro's stats vs Chelsea
Porro joined Spurs on a permanent deal in the summer after spending the second half of last term on loan at the club, and has really started to come into his own under Postecoglou's wing, having now made ten appearances in the Premier League this season.
The £85k-per-week dynamo starred against Chelsea and performed admirably against the Blues' numerical superiority, taking 61 touches, winning a whopping eight ground duels which included four tackles, three clearances and blocking a shot, as per Sofascore.
Touches
61
Pass Accuracy
19/28 (68%)
Key Passes
1
Cross Accuracy
3/6 (50%)
Dribble Success
1/3
Clearances
3
Tackles Won
4
Duels Won
8/18
Possession Lost
16x
Fouls
3
Fouled by a Chelsea player
3x
Sourced via Sofascore.
He also succeeded with three crosses, producing a delightful looping delivery for Rodrigo Bentancur to agonisingly head wide after spinning away from Chelsea's defensive line, hailed for his "titanic" performance by reporter Charlie Eccleshare.
As per FBref, the 5 foot 9 star ranks among the top 10% of full-backs across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals, the top 9% for shot-creating actions, the top 17% for assists, the top 1% for blocks and the top 14% for tackles per 90, underscoring his protean ability.
Football.london's Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold was among those left waxing lyrical by the Spanish defender's performance, providing him with a 9/10 match score to match the Lilywhites' imperious goalkeeper.
In his post-match ratings, he wrote: 'Made a mess of an early pass but Vicario bailed him out. From then on he was superb, blocking, tackling and also providing quality at the other end with a free-kick that Bentancur should have headed home.'
Across his appearances in the Premier League this season, Porro has averaged 3.5 tackles, 5.5 ball recoveries and 1.1 key passes per game, also completing 82% of his passes, and his resilience and defensive merit was on full show against a Chelsea team who, frankly, should have blown Tottenham away in the second half.
But they didn't and the Stamford Bridge side's wastefulness was compounded by Postecoglou's team's incredible display of fortitude, ultimately caving in at the end after a gallant effort.
It's the first Premier League defeat of the season for a football club who, just a matter of months ago, were riddled with despondency after falling to an eighth-placed league finish in 2022/23 that played a part in the sale of world-class talisman Harry Kane.
Tottenham lost, but the feel-good factor must remain intact; now is the time to show off a steely new underbelly and rebound from the setback with vigour.
With stars such as Vicario and Porro maintaining such remarkable levels, a season of memorable success could very much be achievable.
