The top English football clubs Chelsea FC and Tottenham Hotspur got off to a bad start in the new year.
The Blues with national striker Kai Havertz only managed to draw 1-1 (1-0) at the relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest on the 18th matchday of the Premier League, while London city rivals Tottenham even lost 0-2 (0-0) at home to Aston Villa. .
Raheem Sterling (16th) gave Chelsea an early lead. However, it wasn’t enough for the second win in a row because Serge Aurier (63rd) was able to equalize for Forest.
Chelsea are no longer getting going under Graham Potter, successor to successful coach Thomas Tuchel. The highly ambitious Blues are only bottom of the table, 18 points behind leaders and city rivals Arsenal.
Spurs are five points better than Chelsea, but Tottenham’s team manager Antonio Conte is likely to come under even more criticism after their fifth loss of the season.
On Monday (6:30 p.m.), Liverpool, coached by Jürgen Klopp, can also knock Spurs from fifth place in the table with a win at FC Brentford.
Emiliano Buendia (50th) after a capital error by French international goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and Douglas Luiz (73rd) scored at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the guests, with Argentina world champion keeper Emiliano Martinez still on the bench after his extended vacation.