The Premier League weekend kicked off with an early clash between the two greats of the Premier League, Frank Lampard’s Everton taking on Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa. It was the Liverpool legend that came out on top, winning the tie 2-1 and piling on the misery on former Chelsea great. Then came the 3 p.m. kickoffs in which the headliner saw Arsenal host a spirited Leicester City side. In the end, Gunners’ quality made the difference as Gabriel Jesus scored two and assist the other two goals to give the north London side a 4-2 win.
The most shocking result came at Brentford as the Bees thrashed Manchester United 4-0 at home. Nevertheless, all focus was on Sunday afternoon when the main event was scheduled to take place from Stamford Bridge.
Tottenham started as the stronger team, but that only lasted for a few minutes as the Blues settled into the affair. After that, the west London side was all over its north London neighbor. The home side took the lead as Kalidou Koulibaly scored a brilliant volley in the 19′. Throughout the first half, Chelsea was the team on top and it carried that into the second half too.
Unfortunately, the refereeing quality seemed very questionable. One of the blatant fouls on Kai Havertz was not given, which led to the equalizer being scored by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. This was the catalyst for Antonio Conte celebrating wildly in front of the Chelsea bench. This resulted in a heated clash between the two managers.
Reece James restored Chelsea’s lead in the 77′. It all looked done and dusted but toward the end of the game, Cristian Romero was seen pulling the hair of Marc Cucurella. The matter went to VAR, but for some inexplicable reason, it was not awarded as a foul. The resulting corner saw Harry Kane scored in the 96′ to give Spurs the most undeserving point. After the game, Conte and Tuchel were involved in another heated argument, resulting in both getting sent off.
Here’s how each CFC player fared in a very controversial London Derby:
Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy (Goalkeeper): 7/10
Edouard Mendy did not have much to do in the first half. The only notable thing the Senegalese international did was save the effort from Ryan Sessegnon, which would have likely been flagged for offside if it had gone in. In the second half, Mendy had to make a few saves, but the goalkeeper couldn’t have done much to avoid the two goals he ultimately conceded. All in all, it was a decent outing for Chelsea’s No. 1 between the sticks.
Reece James (Right centerback): 9/10
Reece James was the best out of the lot from Chelsea in this game. The English international was deployed at right centerback to cope with the pace of Heung-min Son and James was very comfortable in the first half. In the second half, he played the majority of the game in his preferred position of right wingback. He scored the second goal for Chelsea, which almost sealed the deal and won all three points for the Blues. But in the end, it was James who was the closest to the ball after Harry Kane headed it toward the goal in the 95’—not that James could have done anything better to avoid the shot from finding the back of the net.
Thiago Silva (Centerback): 6/10
The Brazilian veteran had a very quiet game this time around. With not much-attacking threat from Spurs in the first half, Silva was barely seen in action. In the second half, when the tempo gathered pace, he was caught out twice. One occasion was when Harry Kane was through but missed the target due to a scuffed effort. The second time came in the last play of the match when Kane leaped ahead to give THFC the equalizer. Not the best of games from the rather reliable stalwart.
Kalidou Koulibaly (Left centerback): 8/10
Kalidou Koulibaly had a great game. Initially, the Senegalese international was a bit clumsy on the ball, giving the ball away and misplacing passes, but as the game went on, he settled down well. In the 19th minute, Koulibaly marked his Stamford Bridge debut with a stunning volley from a corner to give Chelsea the lead. The partnership between Koulibaly and Silva seems to be the one that could prove crucial for the club. It appears as though the Blues found the best possible replacement for Antonio Rudiger.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Right wingback): 8/10
By far this was one of the best performances from Ruben Loftus Cheek playing as a right wingback. If this is how the season is about to be for the English international, then Chelsea has more than capable cover for the position. Throughout the game, Loftus Cheek was exceptional and was a menace to the Spurs defense. His decision-making in the final third was a bit off, but the wingback almost scored from a Jorginho cross in the first half. Looking forward to the former featuring more for the club this term.
Jorginho (Central midfielder): 6/10
Throughout the first half, the Italian midfielder was exceptional. Great passing and controlled the tempo of the game. For the majority of the second half, Jorginho was great. However, the Italian has to be held accountable for giving away the ball in his own box. The stupid decision of doing multiple drag-backs instead of just clearing the ball cost the team greatly. Straight after the goal, Jorginho was substituted off for Cesar Azpilicueta in the 73rd minute.
N’Golo Kante (Central midfielder) 8.5/10
Just like in the previous game against Everton, N’Golo Kante gave everything in the game and his work rate can never be questioned. It was as if we are seeing the old Kante back. A player you could rely on during big games – and this is what we exactly got. He made life difficult for every Spurs player that came near him, intercepting their passes. Not to mention being a constant threat in the attacking third too. But towards the end of the game, Kante was forced off due to an injury that seems to be a major muscle issue and was replaced by Conor Gallagher.
Marc Cucurella (Left wingback): 7.5/10
Marc Cucurella made his full debut for the club and was exceptional throughout. Cucurella was very solid defensively all game, and was also involved in a lot of set pieces. One of his corners resulted in Kalidou Koulibaly opening the scoring for the home side. It was absurd to see how Cucurella was not given the foul when his hair was pulled in the penalty area in the dying minutes. All of this stinks of match-fixing, in my opinion.
Mason Mount (Right winger): 7/10
Mason Mount gave a far better performance against Spurs compared to the previous game against the Toffees. Mount kept going in good positions that troubled the Tottenham back line. The England international should have doubled Chelsea’s lead in the first half but blazed his effort over. All in all, a very energetic and positive performance from Mount today.
Kai Havertz (Center forward): 6/10
Kai Havertz had a very mixed match game today. One thing is sure that the German international has to improve his finishing as he missed a sitter after James put in a peach of a cross. Throughout the game, Havertz made good passes and was cheeky with the ball and his dribbles. We also saw how greatly Havertz was linking up with Sterling and Mount which is a positive sign for things to come. Kai Havertz was replaced by Armando Broja in the 90th minute.
Raheem Sterling (Left winger): 7/10
Raheem Sterling, just like in the first game of the season, played very well. Although in the first half, Raheem Sterling was a bit quiet. Though his holdup play and link up with the likes of Havertz and Mount were great. At the hour mark, Sterling should have scored his first goal for the club, but he blasted his effort way above the bar. Raheem Sterling was also very smart in assisting the goal that gave Chelsea the lead for the second time around.
Cesar Azpilicueta (Right centerback): 6/10
Cesar Azpilicueta came on for Jorginho in the 73rd minute and was expected to secure the backline after Antonio Conte brought on multiple attacking players. Whenever called into action, Azpilicueta looked solid and was a good substitution as his introduction meant that Reece James could attack from the wing.
Christian Pulisic (Left winger): 5/10
Christian Pulisic came on for Raheem Sterling in the 84th minute and tried to influence the game but couldn’t do much. For all of the 15 minutes Pulisic played, he was pretty much anonymous.
Armando Broja (Center forward): N/A
Armando Broja came on for Kai Havertz in the 90th minute and couldn’t do much to impact the game.
Conor Gallagher (Central midfielder): N/A
Conor Gallagher came on and replaced the injured N’Golo Kante in the 85th minute. Gallagher had one or two chances when in the final third he should have taken the shot on goal. One thing to look forward to after the injury to N’Golo Kante, is that Conor Gallagher could now get more game time and it might well be his time to impress.
What ratings would you give to each of the players? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter!