Revived under Tuchel, Chelsea hands Spurs 3rd straight loss

LONDON — Chelsea's revival under Thomas Tuchel continued as Jorginho's penalty sealed a 1-0 win at Tottenham on Thursday, handing Jose Mourinho's side a third consecutive loss.

Tottenham's poor form was punctuated by the way Eric Dier recklessly tripped Timo Werner to concede the penalty, which Jorginho converted in the 24th minute.

While Chelsea's pursuit of the Champions League places was given a lift, Tottenham is slipping away from the top four in a disappointing second season in charge for Mourinho.

Tottenham was also beaten at its stadium last Thursday by Liverpool — before collapsing at Brighton — meaning Mourinho has now experienced back-to-back home league defeats for the first time in his managerial career.

How different from the glory days of his two spells at Chelsea when he lifted the Premier League trophy three times and turned Stamford Bridge into a fortress.

Given the team's current slump, Mourinho will be hoping Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is more patient than Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.

It was Abramovich's restlessness that saw Mourinho fired twice, part of a managerial carousel at Chelsea that also led to Frank Lampard being dismissed last month. Tuchel is unbeaten in three matches since taking over, with two wins and draw moving Chelsea up to sixth, four points from Liverpool in fourth place.

Tottenham is three points adrift in eighth place having played a game less, and is sorely missing the injured Harry Kane, who could return from ankle injuries next week. Not since 2012 has Tottenham lost three league matches in a row and the hosts rarely looked like equalizing on a night when Gareth Bale was left on the bench.

AP