Hakim Ziyech stunner sees Chelsea end Conte’s unbeaten league start at Spurs

It was a moment that made all of Chelsea’s problems fade away. Suddenly, nobody was worrying about a draining fixture list and a worrying run of results. Stamford Bridge had come alive and even Hakim Ziyech was smiling after opening the scoring for Chelsea, who had looked short of inspiration before their mercurial winger gave them the lead with one of the goals of the season.

This was Ziyech at his absolute best: cutting in from the right, the ball on his left foot and a shot bent wickedly into the far corner. Hugo Lloris could only watch helplessly as the ball flew past him and Chelsea, who have looked so tetchy and tired lately, could finally feel their season coming back to life.

Spurs, on the other hand, were left with nothing but regrets after losing in the league for the first time under Antonio Conte. They came into this game with hopes of dragging Chelsea into a top-four battle, but the gap looked as big as ever in the end. Ultimately, for all the strides that Spurs have made under Conte, they had none of Chelsea’s individual quality; nobody who could open up a tight game quite as inventively as Ziyech, whose splendid opener at the start of the second half was followed by Thiago Silva settling the contest with a fine header from Mason Mount’s free-kick.

For Conte, this was a reminder of the size of the task ahead. For all that Spurs fared better than when Chelsea reached the Carabao Cup final at their expense earlier this month, they remain desperate for reinforcements before the transfer window shuts next week. They were competitive in the first half – Harry Kane was aggrieved to have a goal ruled out at 0-0 – but Conte’s squad still contains too much mediocrity.

A central midfield of Harry Winks and