Tottenham Hotspur welcomed Chelsea at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium hoping to bounce back from their defeat against Crystal Palace last week. The hosts started on top in the first half, keeping Chelsea in their half and restricting them to no shots on target. Throughout the first half, the home side was on top but couldn’t take their chances against a stubborn Chelsea defense.
With the second half came a sublime tactical switch from Thomas Tuchel which set up Chelsea for exceptional second-half performance. Goals from Thiago Silva, N’Golo Kante, and Antonio Rudiger completed a dominant second half from the Blues. As Chelsea continues to prove their title credentials, Tottenham Hotspur should ponder on the fact how did they fade so quickly in the second half.
Let’s take a look at how each Chelsea player fared in their dominant win against their London rivals Tottenham Hotspur:
Kepa Arrizabalaga (Goalkeeper): 7/10
By far the biggest decision in terms of team selection was the start of Spanish goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. But he fully proved his worth by making a couple of saves in the first half when the team needed him the most and capped off an impressive performance with a clean sheet away from home. Everything about Kepa Arrizabalaga today ranging from ball distribution to shot-stopping was on point.
Andreas Christensen (Centerback): 7.5/10
Andreas Christensen as always continued to be solid at the back for Chelsea, winning the second most (three) aerial duels in the match. The Danish defender was good on the ball throughout the game, created a couple of decent chances going forward, and even came close to scoring in the first half.
Thiago Silva (Centerback): 10/10
For today’s match, no one else but Thiago Silva was the Man of the Match. The Brazilian center-back didn’t put a foot wrong in the game and neutralized the likes of Heung-min Son and Harry Kane. Thiago Silva even opened the scoring for Chelsea which was then followed by a dominant performance.
Antonio Rudiger (Centerback): 8.5/10
Again, as always solid at the back Antonio Rudiger continues to show why he deserves a new contract from the club. The German center back made two crucial interceptions at the back helping the team in keeping a clean sheet. Antonio Rudiger had the best end to the game by scoring the third goal, capping off a dominant win.