When filthy conditions produce a filthy game of football the clever money is seldom on Tottenham to prevail.
Conventional wisdom dictates Spurs will go under when the going gets tough. They will lose their focus, commit errors and crumble and they fail to impose their quality.
Roberto De Zerbi can take great satisfaction that on this occasion Chelsea were the team who lost their cool and reacted with childish petulance when things conspired against them in a frenetic closing sequence of events.
In doing so, Xabi Alonso’s Blues missed the chance to capitalise on Manchester City’s first defeat of the Premier League season and close the gap at the top of the table.
It was Spurs with the look of maturity. Stronger in body and mind. They were the better team for most of the contest.
They resisted when required and seized on a moment of good fortune when Chelsea’s rookie goalkeeper Mike Penders punched a corner into his own net for the opener.
Mike Penders had a moment to forget on his full debut, punching in a Tottenham corner
Chelsea’s miserable evening was capped by Cole Palmer being sent off for a second yellow card
The delivery by Mateus Fernandes was exquisite, fizzed across with pace and swerve and Penders was under pressure from Jan-Paul van Hecke.
The home team claimed a foul for the Van Hecke challenge, but the mistake belonged to the ‘keeper not the referee. Maxence Lacroix hooked the ball out, but it had crossed the line.
Within three minutes, Cole Palmer had been sent off for a second yellow card for a late tackle on Conor Gallagher.
Palmer had been lucky not to be sent off for his first offence, a yellow card for retaliation when he barged into Fernandes as the Spurs midfielder climbed up from the floor having conceded a free kick for a deliberate handball to halt a dangerous Chelsea break.
Palmer was right to be annoyed but his fiery reaction caught Fernandes flush in the face and threw him back to the floor.
De Zerbi and his staff completely lost it on the bench, demanding a red card. De Zerbi picked up a yellow for his protests.
It was not exactly the Battle of the Bridge, the infamous skirmish between these London rivals in 2016 but it brought the game to the boil, but Spurs held their nerve as Chelsea lost theirs.
Morgan Rogers might easily have followed Palmer off, cutting down Gallagher from behind with a cynical foul. Rogers escaped with a yellow card.
Mathys Tel added to Chelsea’s misery with a brilliant solo goal, a strong run and a crisp low finish flashed across the turf for the second in the 87th minute.
Maxence Lacroix was unable to prevent the ball from crossing the line
Spurs celebrated wildly in the rain with their fans. Who can blame them? In the previous 41 visits to Stamford Bridge, they had won only once. That was in April 2018, a fading memory.
The only blow was an injury to James Maddison.
Spurs are up into the comfort of mid-table and gradually bonding under De Zerbi.
They have been on an upward curve since the international break. First a battling point with 10 men at Manchester United. Then the first win in the Premier League at the seventh attempt, at home to Coventry on Monday.
These results either side of a secretive training break in Spain helped replenish the confidence tanks and they made a strong opening at the Bridge.
De Zerbi, having dabbled with a back three against Coventry, reverted to a back four and those who came in delivered for the boss.
Fernandes excelled alongside Sandro Tonali as Spurs dominated midfield and Tel was lively from the outset, linking up to good effect with left back Andy Robertson.
Tel created the first real chance for the visitors, with a low cross cut back for Omar Marmoush. Unmarked, 10 yards out in the centre of goal, Marmoush should have scored but he was unable to beat Penders, the 21-year-old Belgian starting in goal for Chelsea after coming off the bench at Everton when Emi Martinez was carried off with a broken jaw.
Penders made another save to deny Tel, released by Marmoush, although the flag went up for offside.
At the other end, Antonin Kinsky’s distribution was erratic and kept Chelsea in the game even when they did not have the ball. Twice Kinsky gave the ball away to Pedro Neto. On the second occasion he had to react with a splendid save from Jordan Henderson.
Kinsky also made the first save of the game, flying to his right to push wide a shot from Palmer after Neto had won the ball.
Spurs enjoyed more than 70 per cent of possession in the first half but Chelsea had grown into the game as the interval approached. Kinsky was forced to make saves from Rogers, who started at centre forward with Joao Pedro absent with injury, and from Neto.
Maddison went down five minutes into the second half, signalling to the bench as he sank onto his haunches. He knew immediately he could not continue.
De Zerbi admitted on the eve of the game that Maddison had barely trained since Monday when he started a game for the first time in nearly 18 months and scored against Coventry.
The Spurs boss promised to take no risks but with a player who has had no luck with injuries. First the cruciate knee injury, then a setback, then a hip problem in preseason and a shoulder jarred at Brentford on the opening day.
The only sour note for Tottenham was James Maddison limping off in the second-half with a groin injury
Maddison was replaced by Gallagher, a former Chelsea captain, booed onto the pitch by those who once adored him. There were cheers when he was shown a yellow card for a foul on Rogers.
Kinsky produced another excellent save from Neto as the clock ticked past the hour mark.
Then came a flurry of substitutions and tempers frayed as the flashpoint featuring Palmer and Fernandes brought the game to the boil.
Who would have thought it would be Spurs to prevail.
