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Chelsea player ratings at Spurs: Lapses continue in League Cup

By Ishan Shah

Chelsea's French goalkeeper Edouard Mendy (L) makes a save during the English League Cup fourth round football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on September 29, 2020. (Photo by NEIL HALL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by NEIL HALL/AFP via Getty Images)
Chelsea's French goalkeeper Edouard Mendy (L) makes a save during the English League Cup fourth round football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on September 29, 2020. (Photo by NEIL HALL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by NEIL HALL/AFP via Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 29: Erik Lamela of Tottenham Hotspur is challenged by Jorginho of Chelsea during the Carabao Cup fourth round match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 29, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around United Kingdom remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Matt Dunham – Pool/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 29: Erik Lamela of Tottenham Hotspur is challenged by Jorginho of Chelsea during the Carabao Cup fourth round match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 29, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around United Kingdom remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Matt Dunham – Pool/Getty Images) /

Mateo Kovacic (Central midfielder): 6

The double pivot of Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho controlled the midfield, despite being outnumbered. Kovacic’s role when playing alongside Jorginho is to be the main ball mover, either through his passing or by dribbling past his opponent. The silky Croatian completed 100 percent of his attempted dribbles. He also completed 94 percent of his passes and four out of five long balls. However, his passes did not break the lines enough to help Chelsea’s attackers create many chances.

Jorginho (Central midfielder): 5

Jorginho was bang average. He completed 94 passes, most of which were sideways or backward. Credit to Tottenham for making it extremely difficult for him to make progressive passes, but you would expect Jorginho to do better given his reputation as one of the best distributors in Europe. Defensively, Jorginho was really poor. He won just five out of 11 duels and was constantly being outrun in midfield.

Mason Mount (Attacking midfielder): 3

After completing 90 minutes in every single game Chelsea has played this season, there was absolutely no justifiable reason for Lampard to start Mason Mount over Kai Havertz or even Ross Barkley—who performs well consistently in cup competitions. Mount is being overused, and with this busy schedule, he is running the risk of picking up an injury sooner or later. This showed in his performance.

He seemed off the pace throughout the game, reacting a second late to every second ball. One cannot blame him for his penalty, but one can certainly question him for not being able to slot in Timo Werner when they found themselves in a two-on-one situation against Eric Dier. Mount is the kind of player who will definitely put his head down, train hard and bounce back from this poor performance. I expect Mount to bounce back immediately after this crucial penalty miss, just like Tammy Abraham did last season.

N’Golo Kante (Central midfielder): 6

N’Golo Kante had a good impact off the bench, immediately adding energy and a fresh pair of legs to Chelsea’s midfield. Apart from a filthy nutmeg, Kante was also good at winning the ball back for Chelsea. The Frenchman won three out of five duels during his short cameo, while also completing 91.7 percent of his passes.

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