Cole Palmer was pelted with missiles by Tottenham fans as he tried to take corners during a heated London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Chelsea and Spurs shared an entertaining first half as two quick goals for the home side were pegged back by one from the Blues’ Jadon Sancho.
But the game twice had to be stopped as stewards cleared up and contained fans when Palmer, Chelsea’s outstanding player this season, was bombarded with balls of paper which had been provided on seats for Spurs to make a mosaic before kick-off. There also appeared to be a bottle thrown among the objects aimed at the Chelsea player.
Palmer appeared to shrug off the incidents, kicking them away before taking the set-pieces. The playmaker had an otherwise uneventful half, kicking thin air with his best opportunity after getting on the end of a cut-back in the box.
Spurs are likely to face some disciplinary action from the Football Association after the incident.
Tottenham took the lead when Cucurella slipped on the ball early in the game and Brennan Johnson pounced, racing down the right side before crossing for Dominic Solanke, who dived in at the near post and diverted the ball into the top corner.
And there was another disaster for Cucurella, who slipped once more and Spurs stole it again. This time Dejan Kulusevski drove inside on to his left foot, dummying the shot once, and then twice, before firing back into the bottom right corner.
Sancho responded as Chelsea went into the break trailing 2-1.
