CHELSEA RETURNED TO the top of the Premier League as they came from behind to record a 2-1 victory over rivals Tottenham at Stamford Bridge.
Christian Eriksen put Spurs ahead with an excellent long-range strike, his first top-flight goal of the season.
But Chelsea responded with a superb effort of their own as Pedro curled his shot past Hugo Lloris just before half-time, before Victor Moses completed the comeback early in the second half.
Antonio Conte’s men have now won seven consecutive league games and return to the summit after title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City had won earlier on Saturday.
Spurs, though, suffer their first league defeat of the season to cap a miserable week that also saw them knocked out of the Champions League at the hands of Monaco.
They now sit seven points adrift of Chelsea in fifth and have still not won at Stamford Bridge since February 1990.
Harry Kane thought he had put the visitors in front from close-range in the early stages, only to be correctly flagged for offside from Eriksen’s free-kick.
But the visitors did move in front through a stunner from the Denmark international on 11 minutes.
Dele Alli was given space to drift inside and he found Eriksen, who took one touch before firing a superb left-footed strike past Thibaut Courtois from outside the area – the first top-flight goal conceded by Chelsea in 601 minutes.
Lloris was not tested until just before the half-hour mark when David Luiz’s long-range free-kick flew into his arms, but Spurs were still the better side and Kane forced Courtois to push his powerful strike over at the other end.
A moment of brilliance from Pedro got Chelsea level in the final minute of the first-half, with the winger collecting Nemanja Matic’s pass, turning sharply and sending a magnificent curling effort past Lloris from the edge of the box for his third goal in five league games.
Pedro’s equaliser had come against the run of play, but the momentum was all with Chelsea early in the second half, with Moses striking six minutes after the restart.
Diego Costa created the goal, making great ground down the left before his cut-back allowed the unmarked Moses to strike, with Jan Vertonghen unable to prevent the Nigeria international’s low effort from crossing the line.
It should have been three for Chelsea a few moments later. Costa was again the creator – this time from the right – but Marcos Alonso blazed a great chance over the bar on his weaker right foot.
Courtois did well to keep out an Eriksen effort as Spurs pushed for a leveller, but Pochettino was clearly unhappy with what he was seeing, bringing on Harry Winks, Georges-Kevin Nkoudou and Vincent Janssen in an attempt to spark a recovery.
But a solo run and shot from Nkoudou which Courtois saved was the best the visitors could manage in the closing stages as Chelsea comfortably held on having controlled the second half.
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