Chelsea picked up a huge 4-3 win against Spurs to strengthen their position in second place in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
After a fast-paced and energetic start to the match, Spurs took the lead after a calamitous slip from Marc Cucurella which Brennan Johnson capitalised on. Tottenham’s winger ran down the right wing and put in a pinpoint accurate cross which Dominic Solanke slotted home past Robert Sanchez whose positioning was extremely questionable.
Yet another slip from the Spaniard, Cucurella led to Spurs taking a 2-0 lead inside 11 minutes. This time, the Spaniard’s slip was pounced on by Dejan Kulusevski, who slotted it home right into the bottom corner.
Despite their early lead, Spurs slightly lost control of the game and it led to Jadon Sancho firing an excellent low shot past Fraser Forster on the 17-minute mark. Sancho was phenomenal all afternoon and got the goal he rightfully deserved.
In a big change at half-time, arguably Chelsea’s best player from the first half, Romeo Lavia, was replaced by Malo Gusto. Despite Lavia making way, Chelsea got better and were tormenting the Spurs defence which eventually led to Moises Caicedo being brought down by Yves Bissouma in the box, which gave them a chance to equalise. As expected, Cole Palmer stepped up and calmly slotted the penalty into the corner.
Palmer continued to torment the Spurs defence and glided past three players to make his way into the box to find Enzo Fernandez who unleashed a venomous left-footed shot into the bottom corner to put the Blues into the lead. From this moment on, Chelsea were in full control and cemented a win with another penalty after 84 minutes which, once again, Palmer slotted home, this time with a panenka down the middle.
With the game at 4-2, Spurs made an attempt for a late comeback which they almost got when Heung-Min Son scored from close range in the 96th minute. However, they could not find a late equaliser as pressure continues to mount on Ange Postecoglou.
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Spurs vs Chelsea – Match Statistics |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Spurs |
Statistic |
Chelsea |
|
38 |
Possession (%) |
62 |
|
13 |
Shots |
17 |
|
5 |
Shots on Target |
8 |
|
5 |
Corners |
10 |
|
4 |
Saves |
2 |
|
2 |
Yellow Cards |
3 |
Match Highlights
Spurs Player Ratings
GK: Fraser Forster – 7.5/10
Despite shipping four goals, Fraser Forster was one of Spurs’ top performers against Chelsea. The 36-year-old made four very good saves in the match but was ultimately let down by his defence and players giving penalties away.
RB: Pedro Porro – 7/10
Provided an assist but mainly struggled defensively up against Jadon Sancho who was relentlessly taking him on and on top form.
CB: Cristian Romero – 6/10
Romero looked pretty tidy early on but was forced off with an injury after just 15 minutes which immediately affected Spurs as they conceded just two minutes after.
CB: Micky Van de Ven – 6/10
The Dutchman dealt with Nicolas Jackson well but looked uncomfortable when Chelsea’s flair players began to run at the defence. Van de Ven was forced off after 79 minutes after feeling his hamstring, so Spurs will be hoping that is not too serious of an injury.
LB: Destiny Udogie – 6.5/10
Udogie was worked very hard up against Neto as well as Palmer, who kept drifting out to the right wing. Despite being doubled up on for most of the game, Udogie stayed resilient and but was run ragged at times.
CM: Dejan Kulusevski – 7.5/10
The Swede scored with a tidy finish into the bottom corner and was a constant, energetic presence in midfield both offensively and defensively, despite not playing in his natural position on the right wing.
CM: Yves Bissouma – 5/10
Bissouma started the game well and looked comfortable but as the game went on he began to struggle. He gave away a penalty on the hour mark after a wild challenge on Caicedo which received no arguments.
CM: Pape Sarr – 5/10
Like his midfield counterpart, Bissouma, Sarr also gave away a penalty and it was yet another clear decision. He struggled on the ball for most of the game but remained an energetic presence in the middle of the park.
RW: Brennan Johnson – 7/10
The Welshman provided an excellent assist for Solanke’s opening goal. Johnson took advantage of a slip from Cucurella and capitalised on it, but other than that, he did not see much of the ball and wasn’t really that involved in the game at all.
ST: Dominic Solanke – 8/10
Solanke opened the scoring for Spurs after just five minutes. He was making life difficult for Chelsea’s defenders with his physicality and was a big presence for his side defensively on set pieces as well.
LW: Heung-Min Son – 7/10
Son saw a lot of the ball in the first half but struggled in the second half. Despite his second half struggles, he managed to get on the scoresheet in the 96th minute with a close-range finish.
SUB: Radu Dragusin – 7/10
Filled Romero’s place well after making way through injury and was one of Spurs’ better players. Like Van de Ven, he dealt with Jackson well and had an all round very decent performance.
SUB: Timo Werner – 6/10
Didn’t really do anything to impact the game offensively, but he worked hard and was a nuisance at time for the Chelsea back line.
SUB: James Maddison – 7/10
Despite being on the pitch for just over 15 minutes, Maddison was a shining light for Spurs. He took control of the game when he came on and managed to provide an assist as well as a few good other opportunities.
SUB: Archie Gray – N/A
Wasn’t on the pitch long enough to contribute and didn’t see too much of the ball.
SUB: Lucas Bergvall – N/A
Like Gray, Bergvall came on late into the game and didn’t see too much of the ball therefore didn’t have an impact.
Chelsea Player Ratings
GK: Robert Sanchez – 5/10
Sanchez did not have much to do but at times he looked very uncomfortable. His positioning for Spurs’ opening goal was poor and his distribution flattered to deceive at times as well.
RB: Moises Caicedo – 7/10
Caicedo started at right back but transitioned into midfield following Lavia’s injury. The Ecuadorian performed well and was quality on the ball and an energetic presence. Was fortunate to avoid a red card.
CB: Benoit Badiashile – 6/10
Struggled at times against Solanke but was solid for most of the game.
CB: Levi Colwill – 7/10
The Englishman was brilliant on the ball and provided many press-breaking passes into the midfield. Like Badiashile, he struggled slightly up against Solanke but looked the more comfortable of the centre-halves.
LB: Marc Cucurella – 4.5/10
The Spaniard was poor on the ball and out of position a lot. He had a nightmare start to the match, slipping twice which led to Spurs taking a quick two goal lead.
CM: Romeo Lavia – 7.5/10
Was by far Chelsea’s best player in the first half but he made way at half-time. He was getting stuck in defensively but on the ball he was sublime.
CM: Enzo Fernandez – 8/10
Calm and controlling. Fernandez was spraying diagonals all match and added the cherry on top of his very good performance with a top quality, powerful left-footed goal.
CAM: Cole Palmer – 8.5/10
Record breaker. As well as breaking the record for scoring the most consecutive penalties in Premier League history, Palmer was a nuisance for the Spurs defence and was outstanding going forward.
RW: Pedro Neto – 7/10
Neto was very solid on the right wing but did not have a great impact.
ST: Nicolas Jackson – 5.5/10
Struggled to ever get into the game and was dealt with well by the Spurs defence.
LW: Jadon Sancho – 8.5/10
His best performance in a Chelsea shirt yet. Every time he picked up the ball he ran at defenders and was a nightmare at times for Udogie. Chelsea fans will be hoping he can continue these types of performances.
SUB: Malo Gusto 6.5/10
The Frenchman was introduced at halftime and seamlessly slotted into the Chelsea defence.
SUB: Christopher Nkunku – N/A
Only had four touches of the ball and was only on the pitch for 20 minutes
SUB: Noni Madueke – N/A
Dribbled well once down the right wing but like Nkunku, was not on for long enough to make an impact.
SUB: Renato Veiga – N/A
Came on in the 90th minute so couldn’t make an impact.
SUB: Joao Felix – N/A
Came on in the 90th minute so couldn’t make an impact
Man of the Match
Cole Palmer
Who else? The Englishman continued his fine form this season, adding another two goals to his tally. Palmer was a nightmare to deal with as he was constantly running at the Chelsea defence, leaving them on skates. His trickery is always impressive, but his end product in terms of providing for his teammates as well as scoring goals was once again top-class.
Palmer broke the record for the most consecutive penalties scored in Premier League history, which may be just one of many other records he breaks at this level.
