'Giving the Tottenham fans extra stick!' - Levi Colwill makes cheeky admission as Chelsea pile more misery on rivals Spurs

Chelsea tightened their grip on a top-four Premier League finish with a crucial 1-0 win over bitter London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday night, thanks to a goal from Enzo Fernandez in the second half. The result maintained Chelsea’s long-standing dominance over Spurs at home, with the North London club managing just a single win at the Bridge since 1990.

Following the final whistle, Chelsea defender Colwill didn’t hide his appreciation for the home crowd. In a post-match interview, the young centre-back singled out the Stamford Bridge support as a major factor behind their performance.

In a chat with Sky Sports, Colwill said: "It was a tough one out there, but it meant everything to me, the boys, and the fans, especially. The fans were amazing out there. They got us through that, I can tell you that. It was giving the Tottenham fans stick, and that was what we needed. That gave us the extra 10 minutes, the runs at the end, and the boys were buzzing from it. That was amazing."

Colwill also explained that the squad had done their homework on Ange Postecoglou’s tactics and executed their strategy with precision.

"We felt comfortable. We knew how they play and we knew how to hurt them. Today we played really well and we could've scored way more chances," he said.

"We're fighting for the Champions League and we need to win games. To win games, we have to change style sometimes. We knew they had a high line and we have Nicolas Jackson. He's a huge threat, into feet and in behind and we know if we play to his advantage we'll score goals. Today we did score goals through that."

While Chelsea celebrated, the defeat only added to Tottenham’s growing woes. With just 34 points from 30 matches, the club now finds itself languishing in 14th place, a far cry from their usual European aspirations.

Spurs will look to rebound when they host Southampton on April 6, a fixture that is quickly becoming a must-win if they are to salvage anything from a disappointing campaign. Chelsea, on the other hand, will look to build on the momentum when they travel across town to face Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on the same day.