Chelsea star reveals his team’s desire to stop Tottenham from winning the title

Cesar Azpilicueta speaks about Chelsea’s desire to be top dogs in London

Speaking in an interview with the Telegraph (h/t Daily Mail), Cesar Azpilicueta spoke about Chelsea wanting to be the number one club in London and recalled their desire to stop Spurs from winning the league in 2016.

Cesar Azpilicueta featured in the Chelsea side that came back from 2 goals down against Tottenham in 2016 to secure an ill-tempered 2-2 draw.

The result prevented Spurs from winning the league and is now infamously remembered as the ‘Battle of the Bridge’ due to the number of cards shown in the game.

Speaking about that match, the Chelsea defender praised the atmosphere of Stamford Bridge, which would not be present in a similar form this weekend due to current restrictions.

It’s one of those kinds of games when you usually feel a special atmosphere at the Bridge and that game [in 2016], we were having a terrible season, we were losing 2-0 at half-time. But in the second half, the electricity around the stadium… I think something clicked that day even though we were not playing for anything, just to not let Tottenham win the league.

Azpilicueta said that the desire to not let their rivals win the league also drove them on. The Spanish defender also emphasized the team’s hunger to maintain their good record against Spurs and keep being the number one team in London.

“It was not only the game, it was the title race as well that they were involved in. Every year is different and we had a very good record against them until two or three seasons ago when we lost, but, hopefully, we can keep beating them at the Bridge. We always try to be the top team in London and we want to be at the top because that means we are the No 1s. That’s what we fight for.”

Being unbeaten in 10 games and winning the last 6 matches in succession, Azpilicueta hopes that Chelsea can continue the run and assert their dominance in the league.

‘We are in good form and, hopefully, we can improve on last season and now reach higher levels.’

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Chelsea are 3rd in the table and take on league leaders Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday in the Premier League. A win will see Frank Lampard’s side leapfrog their London rivals on the table.