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Tottenham Hotspur faced the ire of their fans as they exited the pitch to a chorus of boos following a lackluster loss to Chelsea.
In a tense encounter in north London, the scoreboard showed a narrow difference, with only Joao Pedro’s goal setting the teams apart.
However, the truth of the matter was that Enzo Maresca’s squad could easily have walked away with a more decisive victory, perhaps by two or three goals, leaving Spurs fans with little to defend. Currently, under Thomas Frank’s leadership, Tottenham seems to be struggling with a lack of creativity and innovation, much to the supporters’ dismay.
Kieran Gill from Daily Mail Sport was present at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to provide his take on the proceedings. Here are his player ratings.
Enzo Maresca will be pleased with the performance of his Chelsea side in north London tonight
Joao Pedro took his goal well to put the Blues into the lead, which they could have added to
Tottenham fans are growing in frustration with their lack of creativity under Thomas Frank
TOTTENHAM (4-2-2-2)
Guglielmo Vicario – 6
Vicario managed to thwart Joao Pedro once, but couldn’t deny him a second time following Caicedo’s masterclass in ball recovery. If not for Vicario’s efforts, Chelsea’s victory margin could have been wider.
Pedro Porro – 5
Hardly had an impact on this game, which was surprising given we know how good he can be, though perhaps it was primarily due to Tottenham’s tactical set-up.
Kevin Danso – 5
The latest long thrower to try to hurt Chelsea, but on this occasion, the visitors managed to avoid conceding from such a scenario, even if Bentancur did come close once.
Micky van de Ven – 5
Caicedo never needs much invitation to get stuck in, but Simons’ pass to Van de Van was soft enough to entice him in. Chelsea’s midfield enforcer won his tackle cleanly and they scored.
Djed Spence – 4.5
Seconds before Chelsea’s opener, Spence seemed to fancy trying to take on multiple opponents, as if he wanted to go as a winger for Halloween. He lost the ball, and the Blues scored.
Joao Palhinha – 5
We wondered whether he might plop himself into the defence to create a back three – Chelsea hate that system, after all – but Spurs used their four midfielders much more traditionally.
Rodrigo Bentancur – 4
Lucky boy in that VAR did not order a review on his terrible tackle on James. It looked red-card worthy to me, but Bentancur was shown only a yellow as the monitor remained unvisited.
Bentancur struggled to lead the Spurs midfield and was lucky not to be sent off for a bad tackle
Lucas Bergvall – 5.5
Was not happy at all that Spurs’ club doctor Tamim Khanbhai forced him into being substituted after a rigorous concussion check. Good to see player welfare taking priority for once, though.
Pape Matar Sarr – 4
Anonymous, and so not worth trying to fill the word count here.
Mohammed Kudus – 5
Just so hard to get the ball off Kudus, who at least is the type to try to create something from nothing. He was one of the only attackers for Spurs attempting some invention.
Randal Kolo Muani – 4
Hardly provided any service while trying to lead the line for Spurs. All felt rather thankless as this side were devoid of any and all real creativity.
SUBS
Xavi Simons (for Bergvall, 7) – 3
Going to make a special exception and give a substitute a write-up here because Simons helped Chelsea score with an error, and was then the sub who was subbed. After a summer in which he flirted with signing for the Blues.
Xavi Simons suffered the ultimate humiliation after being brought on and then back off again
Cristian Romero (for Danso, 60) – 6
Richarlison (for Bentancur, 60) – 5
Brennan Johnson (for Simons, 73) – 5
Wilson Odobert (for Kolo Muani, 73) – 5
Destiny Udogie (for Porro, 73) – 5
MANAGER: Thomas Frank – 3
Courtesy of Opta, Tottenham’s xG of 0.05 from this 1-0 loss to Chelsea is their lowest ever recorded in a Premier League game. That says it all.
CHELSEA (4-2-3-1)
Robert Sanchez – 8
I lost count of how many times Tottenham chucked the ball into the box, only for Sanchez to either clear or catch those crosses. Commanded his area brilliantly.
Malo Gusto – 6.5
Inverted from right back into midfield, but also had to track Simons. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but Maresca likes how he can take on whatever tactical instructions he gives him.
Wesley Fofana – 7.5
Nothing got through Fofana today. He may be a numpty what with his dangerous driving – Google it if you don’t know already – but he showed his defensive qualities here.
Trevoh Chalobah – 7.5
Not all Chelsea fans are fond of Chalobah despite him being own of their own and having amassed more than 100 appearances, but he refused to be beaten here.
From front to back, each of Maresca’s men played their part in an impressive derby triumph
Marc Cucurella – 6.5
Not easy trying to take possession from Kudus. Ball sticks to his foot like it’s been doused in PVA. But Cucurella held his own and still got forward whenever he could.
Reece James – 8
Proper captain’s performance from James who, by the end, was celebrating every tackle and block. He kept going, even after Bentancur’s ugly foul on him before half-time.
Moises Caicedo – 9
Some prefer Declan Rice. Others fancy Rodri. But Chelsea would not swap Caicedo for anyone. He won the ball not once but twice in the build-up to their opener and had the presence of mind to set up Joao Pedro rather than go for glory himself.
Pedro Neto – 6
Started over Estevao Willian but then Neto has been in good form, and stung the palms of vicario twice with vicious cracks in the second half.
Enzo Fernandez – 7
Headed chance for Chelsea’s second went over after he did well to get up there to meet James’ cross. Cautioned for a clumsy challenge on Palhinha which escaped further VAR scrutiny.
Moises Caicedo was rightfully praised by his teammates after terrific work for Chelsea’s goal
Alejandro Garnacho – 6
With Jamie Gittens pushing hard for a Premier League start, Garnacho had to impress. Despite getting into positive positions, wastefulness saw him replaced by Gittens after 65 minutes.
Joao Pedro – 7
Could have scored more than the one he did and so, as a goalscorer, he will be kicking himself for that. But still, he left here as the match-winner for Chelsea.
SUBS
Jamie Gittens (for Garnacho, 66) – 5
Romeo Lavia (for Gusto, 76) – N/A
Estevao Willian (for Neto, 85) – N/A
Tosin Adarabioyo (for Fofana, 89) – N/A
MANAGER: Enzo Maresca – 7.5
His players executed his plan to perfection, coming to Tottenham and controlling the game. They didn’t even finish it with 10 men! Progress is being made!
REFEREE: Jarred Gillett – 5
He showed a yellow to Bentancur for his awful foul on James, which in my book deserved a red or, at the very least, a pitch-side review.
