A first-half brace from Willian gave Chelsea a merited 2-0 win over Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - and a major boost in the race to finish in the Premier League's top four.
In an incident-packed encounter in north London - with a warning also being issued to the crowd warning that racist behaviour was interfering with the game - Chelsea offset their recent poor form to secure a big three points.
The encounter was given added spice with the managerial meeting of Mourinho with his former Chelsea stalwart Frank Lampard.
Full-time: Tottenham 0-2 CHELSEA!
GET IN THERE! 🙌
What a performance! #TOTCHE pic.twitter.com/F4fZ0ub9C9— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 22, 2019
The game certainly had an edge, and Willian broke the deadlock after just 12 minutes with a beautifully-curled shot from inside the box after a short corner.
And in first-half stoppage time, VAR awarded Chelsea a penalty after a clumsy challenge from Spurs' keeper Paulo Gazzaniga on Marcos Alonso. Willian dispatched the spot-kick, and Chelsea retained their advantage throughout.
The home side's task of clawing back the deficit in the second half was complicated by the sending off of Son Heung Min, who saw red from referee Anthony Taylor after a VAR consultation.
Son appeared to kick out at Antonio Rudiger and left Taylor with little choice but to send him off.
The result means that Chelsea will be in the top four at Christmas. They are now four points clear of high-flying Sheffield United in fifth.
Spurs task of making the Champions League places looks much more difficult after this reversal.
Jose Mourinho's side are in seventh place - six points adrift of Chelsea in fourth.
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