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Chelsea player ratings vs Tottenham: Cole Palmer, that is cheeky! Blues prove they’re the real deal in title race with comeback win at imploding Spurs.
Chelsea closed the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool to four points with a 4-3 win from behind at rivals Tottenham on Sunday.
Spurs raced into a two-goal lead early on but were punished for a string of defensive errors as pressure piles up on Ange Postecoglou.
The Blues went behind inside the opening five minutes. Marc Cucurella slipped while in possession just inside his own half, allowing Brennan Johnson to race away with the ball. His low cross found Dominic Solanke, who got in front of Levi Colwill to finish at the near post, celebrating in front of his former Chelsea fans to boot.
Soon after, Spurs doubled their lead. Cucurella again slipped on the ball and Johnson pick-pocketed him. He circled possession back to Pedro Porro, who fed in the inverting Dejan Kulusevski, and the Swede’s trickling strike outfoxed a hapless Sanchez.
But Chelsea pulled one back with their first real attack of note. Jadon Sancho was afforded the freedom to cut inside from the left, skipping away from Porro and Radu Dragusin before his strike from the edge of the box rumbled in off the far post.
Cole Palmer ought to have brought the Blues level when Sancho squared for him at point-blank range, only to get his feet in a twist and Tottenham were able to clear the immediate danger. Pedro Neto was then denied by a smart low save from Fraser Forster after he tipped away another Palmer effort.
Chelsea were awarded a penalty on the hour mark when Yves Bissouma clattered Moises Caicedo. Palmer stepped up and sent Forster the wrong way to bring the visitors level.
Tottenham should have gone back in front when Son raced onto a long ball over the top meant for the offside Destiny Udogie, who deferred possession to his captain again. Bearing down on goal, the South Korean dragged his shot wide.
With 20 minutes to go, Chelsea completed the turnaround. Palmer wriggled in from the right and drew the attention of several Spurs defenders, with his blocked shot falling to the free Enzo Fernandez to lash in on the half-volley.
A second penalty went Chelsea’s way after Palmer was shoved to the ground by Sarr. The England star fooled Forster with a delicious Panenka and milked his moment as Tottenham fans headed to the exit.
The hosts did pull one back deep into seven minutes of added time when Son slid in after James Maddison’s mazing run into the box, but it proved too little and too late.
GOALÂ rates Chelsea’s players from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium…
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Robert Sanchez (4/10):
Conceded two soft goals early doors and seemingly endeavoured to put his side under pressure with an atrocious range of passing and lack of composure on the ball, much to the visible frustration of Maresca.
Moises Caicedo (7/10):
Chelsea sorely missed the Ecuadorian’s authority and leadership in midfield when they were under the cosh, leading to a substitution at the break to free him up in his natural position. The likes of Son and Sarr bounced off Caicedo, such was his imperious strength, before being cleared out by Bissouma in the box. Got away with a high challenge on Sarr which was cleared of being deemed a red-card offence by VAR.
Benoit Badiashile (4/10):
Tottenham harried the left-footer so much in the first half that Maresca swapped the positions of his centre-backs for the second. Incredibly nervous on the ball much like the goalkeeper behind him. Given quite the battle by Solanke.
Levi Colwill (5/10):
Allowed fellow Cobham academy graduate Solanke to get a run on him for the opening goal. Didn’t inspire a lot of confidence but was far more comfortable playing out than Sanchez and Badiashile, though that was a low bar to clear.
Marc Cucurella (3/10):
Listen, the Spaniard wasn’t the only player to slide on the slippery surface, but he was the only one who surrendered possession in semi-dangerous areas while doing so. A nightmare start to the game in which these slips led to two goals. Receives little credit for an assist to a goal in which Sancho did all the hard work.
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Romeo Lavia (6/10):
Loved turning away from onrushing Spurs defenders with a quick swivel of the shoulders. Booked for cynical foul. Withdrawn at half-time to allow Caicedo to step into midfield.
Enzo Fernandez (8/10):
Starting to get to grips with the physical relentlessness of the English game. Took advantage of Tottenham’s haphazard defending down the flanks with some neat switches of play. Settled the comeback with a superb strike to send the away fans into delirium.
Cole Palmer (8/10):
Ice cold from 18 yards as always. Didn’t have too much of a say on proceedings from open play, with Sancho and Neto seeing more of the ball out wide instead, though was involved in the play leading to Fernandez’s effort and then sent Spurs into meltdown with his Panenka.
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Pedro Neto (7/10):
Was heavily linked with a move to Tottenham over the summer before heading to Stamford Bridge instead. Chewed up Udogie with his two-footed dynamism, though couldn’t find a way to goal once infield.
Nicolas Jackson (5/10):
Muzzled by Dragusin for much of the evening, with the Romanian sticking to Chelsea’s frontman like velcro. Withdrawn for Nkunku after getting little out of the porous Spurs backline himself.
Jadon Sancho (8/10):
Sancho’s had an up-and-down start to his Chelsea career, but this felt like the match where things took off. Hauled his side back into the contest with a scything effort from 20 yards and caused Tottenham so many problems down his flank.
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Malo Gusto (6/10):
Came on at the break for Lavia. Got down the line more than Caicedo did, though more crucially this just allowed the £115m man to play in midfield again.
Christopher Nkunku (6/10):
Brought on for Jackson after Chelsea went ahead.
Noni Madueke (N/A):
Got a runaround at his former club for the final few minutes, replacing Neto.
Joao Felix (N/A):
On for Palmer heading into stoppage time.
Renato Veiga (N/A):
Some spare minutes came in added time for Cucurella.
Enzo Maresca (8/10):
You have to give credit to Maresca, who realised the error of his ways with his early setup and made the requisite changes to secure a massive win.
Source:Goal