Seven takeaways from Chelsea's crazy 4-1 victory at Tottenham

What an utterly stupid sport football is.

Chelsea's 4-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur on Monday night might be one of the worst victories by such a margin. Spurs' unhinged desire to play high line even with nine men probably should have been feasted upon before the Blues' late flurry.

We're not here for VAR nonsense or refereeing rubbish. Here are 90min's key takeaways from the football on display.

Only Tottenham will understand the beauty of their downfall

After four years post-Mauricio Pochettino of accepting death on their knees, Tottenham have tried their best to live on their feet regardless of the situation they're in.

That was put to the extreme here. It's hard to imagine that Ange Postecoglou had a tactical plan for if his side went down to nine men, so it made sense for Spurs to keep playing their way.

The argument that Tottenham should have tried to stifle Chelsea with a low block falls apart when you consider the personnel on the pitch (Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Eric Dier were at centre half, for crying out loud) and the little time any of these players will have spent camping in their own box again.

For too long have Tottenham just accepted their fate under conservative managers, a miserable existence just playing out in front of them. Under Postecoglou, they will always dare to do, and that was appreciated by a warm reception as Chelsea sealed their third and fourth goals.

Nicolas Jackson's hat-trick performance provided more questions than answers

That said, Spurs did get lucky to an extent that Chelsea simply refused to put the game to bed when faced with a high line that was halfway up the Seven Sisters Road to the Emirates Stadium.

Nicolas Jackson ended the night with a hat-trick and yet you'd be forgiven for still believing that he's the opposite of a clinical striker. He and his teammates should have killed the game earlier and not allowed Tottenham a sniff, not got into a position where Dier's equaliser was ruled out for a marginal offside or Robert Sanchez had to deny Son Heung-min.

Hey, if Jackson can feast on the confidence a hat-trick brings, then it doesn't matter how many chances he missed.

Mauricio Pochettino has stopped the bleeding

This week had the potential to go haywire for Chelsea and Pochettino.

Say Son times his run a fraction better leading up to his disallowed goal early on. Say Tottenham are now 2-0 up and Chelsea are crumbling. Say there's less need for the hosts to defend so erratically and they're able to pick their visitors apart as they have with most other sides in their wake this season. Say the Blues are on the end of a hammering.

Now they have to return to Stamford Bridge to take on Manchester City. All sorts of pressure would be on them.

But for once, Chelsea were the beneficiaries of some carnage. They weathered a storm, kept their heads and won an important game of football for the first time in the Pochettino era. It's bought him a little more credit after spending last week telling the world how much he truly loves Spurs.

Tottenham's deficiencies finally race to the surface

The pendulum of madness swung against Tottenham on this occasion. They've had moments of fortune this season without ever being overly lucky in their results, but Monday will have hit them like a truck.

Cristian Romero, rightfully lauded for his new persona of calmness, reverted to type and received his marching orders for a rash challenge on Enzo Fernandez. Destiny Udogie, who has started the season like a seasoned veteran, made the errors of a 20-year-old to see red as well. Spurs are now stretched due to injuries to key players in James Maddison and Micky van de Ven.

Tottenham are in month four of their new project, but only now has that become clear for the world to see.

The move leading to Son's disallowed goal in the first half and some of the attacking patterns in the second is enough evidence to show that Postecoglou's Spurs will still find a way to play the way they want to regardless of the personnel. It just won't lead to a top-one finish.

Only Alisson definitively ranks ahead Guglielmo Vicario among Premier League goalkeepers

Enough time has passed and enough games have been played for us to conclude that Guglielmo Vicario isn't just in a purple patch - he's the real deal.

Much was made of Tottenham's inability to sign David Raya from Brentford in the summer, even more so after the Spaniard joined Arsenal instead.

But the Italian they did get has made a splash and immediately established himself as one of the Premier League's top goalkeepers, proving to be among Europe's finest shot-stoppers and demonstrating his ability to aggressively sweep on Monday.

Cole Palmer is Chelsea's most reliable player already

So Manchester City were just happy to let Cole Palmer walk away for £45m? They didn't think a homegrown player of this calibre was worth keeping around?

Palmer was the one Chelsea player continually looking to pick the lock, to come up with a moment of magic. Pochettino's midfielders failed to provide enough creativity but the 21-year-old - who might not have even signed for the Blues had they sealed a deal for Crystal Palace's Michael Olise instead - relished taking on such responsibility.

Most of Chelsea's mega-money signings have needed time to settle, even a World Cup winner like Fernandez or a solid pro like Sterling. Reece James oozes quality but you can only depend on him for so long.

Another big game has come and gone for Chelsea with Palmer's stock soaring highest, the man they turned to again and again.

Manchester City stand alone in the Premier League

The Premier League title really is Man City's to lose.

They might lose games in a season, but Pep Guardiola's team don't just self-combust the way that their rivals so often do. There's a level of control and maturity that no other side in England can boast.

Arsenal fell apart when the pressure was turned up last season (and Mikel Arteta has already greased the wheels on another crumbling). Liverpool are on their way back but aren't complete. Both Tottenham and Chelsea are at least a year or two away from properly challenging.

Man City were this weekend's big winners.

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