It was a half commentator Martin Tyler described as “full of tactics” — another way of saying “boring.”
That’s not exactly surprising. Tottenham and Chelsea are two of the Premier League’s form sides, so they were bound to cancel each other out to an extent.
And that’s how the first half went, until a moment of clinical finishing from Dele Alli changed things.
Christian Eriksen’s cross was nodded home brilliantly by Alli just before the break. You can watch the goal below.
VIDEO: Dele Alli gves Spurs the lead right before half time!
— e-Spurs (@e_spurs) January 4, 2017
Dele Alli 1-0 Spurs pic.twitter.com/yruowcnILJ
— Matthew (@MTTRDDN) January 4, 2017