Chelsea recorded a much-needed victory over Tottenham Hotspur at the Stamford Bridge, beating its London rival 2-0. The Blues earned a huge three points thanks to a wonder strike from distance off the magical left foot of Hakim Ziyech and a good headed finish from Thiago Silva. In the end, the secured points tightening their grip in the top four.
The first half was completely dominated by the hosts with 75 percent possession of the ball and they had the majority of the chances on goal, as well. The right side of the pitch was the most productive for Chelsea with Ziyech pulling in all the strings. Romelu Lukaku had multiple chances to open the scoring, but failed to make contact with the ball on numerous occasions. Tottenham seemed to have opened the scoring in the 40′ through Harry Kane, but a last-ditch push on Silva denied the visitors their first goal against their rivals all season.
The Blues started the second half with a wonder goal from Ziyech in the 46′ to give the home team the lead. The continued momentum helped Chelsea double its lead just eight minutes later through none other than Silva. Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ziyech kept the Spurs defenders busy throughout the game too. The high intensity was reciprocated by the visitors through a few moves, but Spurs lacked that final pass and they kept giving away the ball at crucial moments. In the end it was a comfortable victory for Thomas Tuchel’s defiant men.
Here’s how each Chelsea player fared in a must win game against Tottenham on Sunday:
Kepa Arrizabalaga (Goalkeeper): 8/10
The Spaniard was called into action at patches throughout the game and he was fully successful in keeping the ball out. Kepa Arrizabalaga has been one of the very few bright sparks in the team, regardless of the dip in the team performances in recent weeks, Surely having the spotlight taken away from the previous record signing has benefited the goalkeeper highly.
Cesar Azpilicueta (Right back): 7.5/10
The Spaniard was constantly in wars with the Spurs players on Sunday. In both the halves, Azpilicueta was always in the eyes of the referee or nearby the whining of Tottenham Hotspur players. The club captain dealt with the danger quietly and diluted away Spurs attacks. A good day at the office for the club captain.
Thiago Silva (Centerback): 8/10
The Brazilian veteran showcased all of his experience to draw a foul from Kane to deny him the opportunity to open the scoring in the first half. Silva—even after being booked early in the first half—turned out to be more clever and cunning than a Spurs side that lacked both of those qualities overall. In the second half, the Brazilian was rewarded for his effort with an intelligent header to double the lead. He’s starting to make Tottenham one of his favorite opponents.
Antonio Rudiger (Centerback): 7.5/10
It was another top performance from the defender on Sunday. The German international always comes alive during these derby days, he is up for a feisty battle every time he takes the pitch and Sunday was no exception. Antonio Rudiger was a constant threat from set pieces as the game was dominated by Chelsea from the start until the end. He dealt very well with the likes of Kane and Steven Bergwijn.
Malang Sarr (Left back): 7.5/10
Another important match and another important performance from the young French defender. Malang Sarr made a few important tackles and interceptions to deal with the danger from any Tottenham attackers with no major problems. Despite having received a bad tackle on him in the first half, Sarr continued his impressive display. Sarr now surely is someone Tuchel can trust in his starting XI, especially with a new 4-2-2-2 system to factor into the rotation.
Jorginho (Defensive midfielder): 7/10
It was a very comfortable day at the office for the Italian midfielder. Playing in a deep-lying role in a newly adapted system of 4-2-2-2 (or 4-1-4-1 as the manager put it), Jorginho seemed very comfortable in playing the ball and controlling the game with much effort. The Italian midfielder was booked in the first half as he was troubled by Bergwijn for a brief period, but that was as bad as it got. He was replaced by N’Golo Kante in the 73′.
Mateo Kovacic (Central midfielder): 7/10
The Croatian international had a solid performance, dominating the midfield with his amazing dribbling and passing skills. To be fair, some of his passing was a bit more wayward than usual, but the bad performance from the Blues’ London rivals meant that didn’t mean much, even when they did manage to get onto the ball.
Mason Mount (Central midfielder): 7.5/10
In a very important derby, Mason Mount showed plenty of battle and desire to be involved throughout the game. In the first half of the contest, the Englishman seemed to have a difficult time trying to find that final pass in behind a very compact and stern Tottenham defense. As the game went on, the England international improved vastly and kept delivering in some delicious dead balls for the Chelsea players to attack. It was his delivery from the free kick which set up Silva’s goal to double the lead.
N’Golo Kante (Defensive midfielder): 6/10
Kante came on for Jorginho in the 73′ and controlled the game well until the end of the match.
Marcos Alonso (Left wingback): N/A
Marcos Alonso came on for Hudson-Odoi in the 87′, but didn’t have much time to have an impact.
Saul Niguez (Central midfielder): N/A
Saul Niguez came on for Ziyech in the 90′, but didn’t have much time to have an impact.
Hakim Ziyech (Right winger): 9/10
By far the best player on the pitch on Sunday was the Moroccan magician, Ziyech. Ziyech has been one of those players who have improved lately, despite a plethora of poor individual and team performances over the last few months. Throughout the game, the Morocco international pulled the strings for Chelsea attacking-wise. Playing in his preferred position afforded him some much-needed space from which he operated and scored a worldie of a goal in the second half. It doesn’t seem to be a surprise that changing the formation to a back four brings out the best in Ziyech.
Romelu Lukaku (Striker): 6/10
It was another frustrating performance from the Belgian international against Tottenham. Lukaku had multiple chances to open the scoring for the home side, but spurned all of his chances, not getting close on any of the chances. Having scored only five goals in 16 Premier League games, the club-record signing up until now has not delivered as he should have. It may not be long before the Belgian could presumably be benched seeing as Kai Havertz is lurking in the wings.
Callum Hudson-Odoi (Left winger): 8/10
After seeing Hudson-Odoi’s contributions in the first half, it felt like it would be another one of those disappointing performances from the young Englishman. However, toward the end of the first half, Japhet Tanganga was booked for a tackle on Hudson-Odoi, who forced the Spurs defender to bring him down or risk giving up a great goalscoring chance. Hudson-Odoi became more dangerous as he started running at the young defender and in the second half, it was his run that started the move which helped Ziyech score that wonderful goal from outside the box. Thereafter, he oozed confidence, took the game by the scruff of the neck and asserted his dominance. He was replaced by Alonso in the 87′.
What ratings would you give each player? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!