A strong opening quarter of the game for the Blues saw them well above the Spurs, which even resulted in the Senegal central defender taking a left footed shot from distance that went wide.
N’Golo Kante and Raheem Sterling forged a better opening 17 minutes into the game by putting in front Kai Havertz for an effort that cleverly sent Hugo Lloris wide of a corner.
From that steady play, new addition Marc Cucurella hit a swinging ball to the far post which Koulibaly, completely unmarked, grabbed with a beautiful volley.
For Spurs, the failure of zonal marking to pick up the 31-year-old was a disappointing factor following the appointment of a specialist set-piece coach, Gianni Vio.
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher noted that the defense left Koulibaly with “Hyde Park” levels of space as he compared the engineering behind the goal to something Glenn Hoddle would have produced in his prime.
“What a finish, it’s worth the money, isn’t it?” the ex-Liverpool star said while commenting. “There was absolutely no one around him. Set-piece, zonal marking… you normally think from the air with the big central defender.
“Just look at the technique, on the volley, sideways. That’s Hoddle-esque!”