With an opportunity to cut the gap to 2 points between them and their London rivals, Chelsea had enough motivation going into this game.
Chelsea started the game off brightly as they were quick on the counter and used the width of their attacking full-backs to great effect. Chelsea broke the deadlock through Alvaro Morata’s header from Moses’ cross.
The Blues were expected to go about their job more confidently after their goal but it was the visitors who shifted gears. Christian Eriksen levelled things for Spurs after his belter of a shot hit the underside of the crossbar and went into the goal.
It was an all Spurs second half as they dominated proceedings and scored 2 vital goals, that came from Dele Alli as they registered a win at Stamford Bridge for the first time since 1990.
Here are the player ratings for Chelsea-
Willy Caballero: 5/10
A tough outing for Chelsea’s second choice keeper. Could have done a little better to stop Eriksen’s goal. Cannot be blamed for Alli’s double in the second half. But was nervy with the ball at his feet.
César Azpilicueta: 6/10
Defensively solid in the first half an hour but collapsed since Spurs’ equalizer.
Andreas Christensen: 5/10
A tough afternoon for the Danish centre back. As a pivot of the team, his passing from the back was quite sloppy. Constantly put under pressure by the Spurs’ front-runners.
Antonio Rüdiger: 6.5/10
His run forward with the ball created the space for Moses to exploit that ultimately led to the goal. His passing was a lot better than in his previous outings for Chelsea.
Victor Moses: 4/10
Was the supplier for Morata’s first, using the space to good effect after he was set up beautifully by Rudiger. Had very little attacking edge after Spurs’ equalizer and was over the place defensively.
Cesc Fàbregas: 6/10
His usual range of passing was missing and that was a huge blow for Chelsea. Had very little creativity in midfield as he could manage just 1 key pass.
N’Golo Kanté: 7/10
His running and energy as always earned him the most tackles (7) in the game. Did his best to try and inject pace and directness to the Chelsea attacks that looked worn out.
Marcos Alonso: 6/10
Very industrious in the first half as he spent a lot of time in the attacking third. Had a goal ruled out due to offside. Had a lot of defending to do in the second half as Spurs were dominating play.
Willian: 5/10
Chelsea’s brightest player on the pitch in the last few weeks hardly had any joy yesterday. Found it difficult to have his say on the proceedings and was given no opportunity to cut inside and take aim at goal.
Eden Hazard: 6/10
His lively start too wore out as the game progressed. Did not have a single shot on target as he was closed down well by the Spurs defenders.
Alvaro Morata: 6.5/10
The goal would have done a world of good to his confidence. Despite a good start, the physicality of the Spurs players proved too much for the Spaniard.
Substitutes:
Oliver Giroud: NA
Had very little time to make an impact as he was brought on only for the final 10 minutes with his team trailing by 2 goals.
Emerson Palmieri: NA
Callum Hudson-Odoi:NA
