Tottenham player ratings vs Chelsea - Van de Ven good but Sarr, Bissouma and Son poor in defeat
Tottenham missed a golden opportunity to up the pressure on Aston Villa in fourth after slipping to a 2-0 defeat at Chelsea. Second best across the 90 minutes, Spurs' wretched record at Stamford Bridge goes on after only winning one game at the home of their rivals in the Premier League era.
Following last weekend's 3-2 defeat against Arsenal, Ange Postecoglou made a total of five changes to his Tottenham team to face the Blues. Emerson Royal, Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr, Brennan Johnson and Richarlison all came into the team, with James Maddison a notable omission from the starting XI.
Elsewhere, Spurs youngster Mikey Moore was named on the substitutes' bench with Postecoglou unable to call upon Ben Davies and Timo Werner through injury. Lucky to not go 1-0 down early on after Micky van de Ven cleared Nicolas Jackson's effort off the line, Tottenham conceded in the 24th minute as Trevoh Chalobah headed home a Conor Gallagher free-kick.
Spurs had really struggled to create any meaningful chances on goal but they really should've equalised not long before the interval when Cristian Romero headed Pedro Porro's free-kick wide of the target. Tottenham were much better after the restart but did very little to test Djordje Petrovic in the Chelsea goal.
Unable to restore parity, Chelsea made them pay as Jackson headed home from close range after Cole Palmer's free-kick had rattled the crossbar and bounced kindly for him. Here is how we rated the Spurs team in the game in west London:
Guglielmo Vicario
Vital touch to Nicolas Jackson's effort inside the opening few minutes but had very little to do after that despite Chelsea's dominance. 5
Pedro Porro
Had a tough job on his hands trying to deal with the tricky Mykhailo Mudryk and overhit a few crosses when going forward. Struggling to rediscover his form from earlier in the season. 4
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Cristian Romero
In a battle with Jackson and was one of Spurs' better performers on the night. Really should have converted Porro's free-kick just before half-time with his header going wide of the target. 6
Micky van de Ven
Made a vital clearance off his own line in the opening few minutes after Jackson's effort looked set to trickle in. Performed well and contributed with a number of key touches as well as moving forward with the ball. 7
Emerson Royal
Started at left-back in the absence of both Destiny Udogie and Ben Davies and came up against former Spurs youngster Noni Madueke. Looked to get forward at times and was in the six-yard box when Brennan Johnson put a cross across the face of goal. 4
Yves Bissouma
Back in the starting XI after dropping down to the bench at Arsenal and showed a few good touches at times but needed to get the ball forward more. Slightly better after the restart before he was replaced by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. 4
Pape Matar Sarr
Another to come back into the team but lost possession of the ball a few times early on and didn't do enough going forward with Postecoglou wanting more. Hooked in the second half. 4
Dejan Kulusevski
Handed a start in his favoured No.10 role with James Maddison on the bench but did very little in the first half to influence things in the final third when in possession. Had more of an influence in the second half with some good runs forward before he shifted to the right wing following Maddison's introduction. 5
Brennan Johnson
Saw quite a bit of the ball and made a few runs down the wing but Chelsea managed to deal with his crosses when he looked to pick out his teammates. Fluffed a chance at the back post late on. 5
Richarlison
Started up front and made a couple of vital contributions early on to head away a couple of Chelsea corners. Held the ball up well at times but saw very little of it in the 18-yard box with limited openings on goal coming his way. 5
Son Heung-min
Back on the left flank but didn't have much of an impact on proceedings across the 90 minutes. Better after the restart after a very quiet opening 45 minutes. 4
Substitutes
Rodrigo Bentancur (Richarlison, 63)
Introduced after the hour mark with Tottenham looking to turn the game in their favour. 5
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Yves Bissouma, 63)
Couldn't help Spurs to a win after playing a key role from the bench numerous times this campaign. 5
James Maddison (Pape Matar Sarr, 63)
Didn't have the impact in the final third he wanted. 5
Bryan Gil (Brennan Johnson, 78)
A rare appearance and tried to make things happen down the left in his limited minutes. 4
Giovani Lo Celso ( Emerson Royal, 85)
On for the final few minutes. N/A
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