A tough-tackling Tottenham Hotspur side beat Chelsea 2-0 at White Hart Lane in the London derby to end the Blues’ streak of 13 consecutive wins, preventing them from making history. Tottenham got the three points on the night after a spirited effort to deny the Premier League leaders any space or time on the ball.
Two headed goals from Dele Alli on either side of half time sealed the win for Spurs as Chelsea could not muster a comeback. Both sides weren’t too dangerous going forward and there were very few chances in the game but Spurs took theirs well.
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Also read: EPL 2016/17 - Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Chelsea - 5 Talking Points
Antonio Conte threw everything at Pochettino’s side with his substitutions but the Blues could not find the back of the net and finally succumbed.
Here are the player ratings:
Tottenham Hotspur
Hugo Lloris – 6.5/10
Lloris wasn’t as busy as he would have expected to be against Chelsea, mainly down to Spurs’ amazing defensive performance. He saved well from a Diego Costa shot in the 47th minute. He then made a routine stop from Pedro’s header in the 59th minute. He wasn’t really tested by Chelsea and was only called on to make simple saves.
Eric Dier – 7/10
Dier played a non-flashy and defensive game at right back. He kept Hazard and Costa in check and even contributed a bit going forward although it wasn’t a great deal, but he did force Courtois into a save in the 46th minute from a header.
Toby Alderweireld – 8/10
Alderweireld was Tottenham’s best defender on the night. He organised the Spurs defence continually and got to every ball in a brilliant defensive showing. He handled Costa superbly, keeping the striker at bay all game. Chelsea could not break through the tough Spurs defence mainly because of the big Belgian.
Jan Vertonghen – 7.5/10
Vertonghen was aggressive in the tackle and defended well throughout the game. He was so aggressive, in fact, that he ended up finding himself in the opposition half crossing in the 3rd minute. He partnered Alderweireld excellently and gave Chelsea no room to attack.
Kyle Walker – 7/10
Kyle Walker gave Marcos Alonso something to think about going forward and nullified the full back’s influence while defending. He was stronger than Alonso on a number of instances, pushing him off the ball several times. He wasn’t as rampant as usual but did enough in the final third to cause problems for Chelsea.
Victor Wanyama – 7.5
Wanyama was perhaps Spurs’ most effective player in midfield and was all over the pitch. He hustled and harried his opponents not giving them time on the ball at all and put in a number of tackles while also mopping up loose balls. He got booked for taking down Hazard in the 40th minute and then made an important clearance in the 52nd minute to avert the danger after Lloris had handed the ball to Hazard.
Moussa Dembele – 7/10
Dembele had a 97 percent passing accuracy in the game and he complemented Wanyama’s defensive effort by helping him tidy up in midfield. He made a surprising run in the 10th minute dribbling past three Chelsea players before dinking a ball to Kane but it didn’t lead to a goal. He did, however, almost concede a penalty after bringing down Moses on the edge of the box in the 49th minute.
Danny Rose - 7.5/10
Danny Rose was excellent all night for Spurs. He was athletic, energetic and aggressive and Chelsea and Moses, in particular, could only stop him by resorting to fouls. Interestingly, most of Spurs’ initial attacks came through him with 47% of their play coming from the left flank in the first half an hour of the game. Rose put in a good free-kick to Dier in the 39th minute but the player could not convert. The full-back was booked in the 87 th minute for a foul on Azpilicueta.
Christian Eriksen – 8/10
Christian Eriksen provided the telling passes for both goals with two identical and excellent crosses. He had a shot that went really close in the 28th minute and another in the 77th minute and he threatened with probing passes all night. Chelsea gave Eriksen an alarmingly long time on the ball and he made them pay with his quality of delivery.
Harry Kane – 6/10
Kane was kept in check by the Chelsea defence all night and offered little. He was very ineffective and could not impose himself on the game.
Dele Alli – 9/10
Alli scored two brilliant headers as he rose above Azpilicueta first in the 47th minute and then later in the 54th minute to meet Eriksen’s crosses. He wasn’t at his best dribbling wise but proved to be the telling difference between the two sides as he converted both his chances superbly. It was a great show of how the youngster Alli’s game is developing all-around.
Substitutes:
Harry Winks – 5/10
Harry Winks came on for Dembele in the 74th minute and looked assured in the midfield. Moussa Sissoko – 6/10
Sissoko came on for Alli in the 86th minute and showed his energy, pressing the ball ensuring Chelsea didn’t score.
Son – NA
Son came on for Kane in the 90th minute but didn’t touch the ball.
Chelsea
Thibaut Courtois – 6/10
Courtois conceded two goals on the night from headers he could do nothing about. He perhaps could have stayed on the goal-line for the second goal but flapped at the near post. He made a save from Dier’s header in the 46th minute apart from a few other routine stops.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 5/10
Azpilicueta finally had a bad game for Chelsea by his exceptionally high standards. He did not challenge Alli in the air for both headers and it resulted in goals. The Spaniard must pick himself up and get back to his aggressive best.
David Luiz – 6.5/10
Luiz kept Kane quiet all night and got to a lot of headers in the box but could not organise or avert the danger for the goals. He took a free-kick that went over the bar in the 25th minute.
Gary Cahill – 6/10
Gary Cahill was average on the night at organising the back line and made a professional foul in the 38th minute, tugging Eriksen to the ground for which he got booked. The Chelsea fans would have expected more from their captain in this derby game but he didn’t play to his potential.
Victor Moses – 5.5/10
Moses was troubled by Danny Rose quite frequently in the first half. It was an interesting battle between the two full backs but he was often second best to the Spurs player. He did not offer much going forward apart from a penalty claim in the 49th minute after Dembele brought him down. The Nigerian was then substituted in the 85th minute.
Marcos Alonso – 5/10
Alonso was exposed for his lack of strength and pace by Kyle Walker with the Englishman getting the better of him throughout the game. He was nullified by Eric Dier going forward as well apart from an attempted headed assist to Hazard in the 48th minute and a cross in the 59th minute to Pedro. He was substituted for Willian in the 65th minute.
N'Golo Kante – 6.5/10
Kante did start off brightly making tackles and finding space although Spurs pressed him considerably. He made some runs but could not dominate the midfield as he so often does with the Spurs pair of Wanyama and Dembele winning the battles in the middle. Kante was also at fault for not closing down Eriksen well enough.
Nemanja Matic – 6/10
Matic came in for Fabregas in the lineup but could not help his team-mate Kante well enough in the centre of the pitch. However, he did play in Hazard in the 5th minute with a chipped pass but the Belgian snatched at it. He should have closed down Eriksen for both goals with the Dane getting tons of time on the ball.
Pedro – 5.5/10
Pedro was ineffective last night against Spurs. He could not get the better of Danny Rose with the full-back negating his influence in the game. He got booked in the 18th minute and then argued with his team-mate Costa. He met Alonso’s cross with a weak header that did not trouble Lloris in the 59th minute and made an over-hit pass in the 70th minute to Hazard on a Chelsea breakaway.
Diego Costa – 6/10
Diego Costa was average against Spurs who contained him well. He got into an argument with Pedro in the 2nd minute because the winger did not make the run he wanted. He then took a shot on goal instead of passing to the Spaniard on a counter and ballooned it over the bar in the 36th minute. In the 47th minute, he got his first shot on target that forced Lloris into a save. He did try to make things happen but his team-mates let him down.
Eden Hazard – 6.5/10
Hazard had Chelsea’s best two chances on the night. He was played in by Matic in the 5th minute but snatched at his shot trying to half volley it with his left foot, despite having a lot of time on the ball and space ahead of him. He made a few dangerous runs but was not productive with his final ball after them. The Belgian then got another great chance in the 48th minute after Alonso headed the ball to him but Hazard tried to go near post with a header instead of across the keeper and steered it wide. He then faded as the game wore on.
Substitutes:
Willian – 5/10
Willian came on for Marcos Alonso in the 65th minute but could not make a telling contribution in the 30 minutes he played.
Cesc Fabregas – 5.5/10
Fabregas came on for N’Golo Kante in the 79th minute and tried to spray some passes around but it was too late and Chelsea missed his creativity going forward to break down Spurs. He should have started the game or come on at halftime.
Mitchy Batshuayi – 4/10
Came on for Moses in the 85th minute in Conte’s last throw of the dice but it was too late and he could not score a half-chance that was presented to him.
