Tottenham 0-1 Chelsea; Players Rating vs Tottenham

 

Thomas Tuchel passes his 1st biggest test of Chelsea’s managerial career as Chelsea beat Tottenham in a dominant 1-0 win. His tactics and system is spot on for today’s match as Chelsea should have buried the game by scoring more than a goal. But again the players are failed to convert some of their chances and especially for today’s match the players were massively lacked in the cutting edge and also in the final third. Defensively Chelsea looked solid again as Tottenham only has one clear goal-scoring opportunity for the whole game which they put it wide of the post. In the attack, Chelsea was having a lot good of chances to score more than 1 goal but the lack of cutting edge and poor decision making from the players prevent Chelsea from scoring more goals which the players should improve for the upcoming games. Overall it’s a deserved win for Chelsea and a massive boost to keep the momentum going on under the new manager. Chelsea line up in a 3-4-1-2 formation with mount played just behind Werner and Hudson Odoi in the attack. Here is the player rating from the match.

 

Note;(GK-Goal Keeper, CB- Centre Back, LWB- Left Wing Back, RWB-Right Wing Back, CM- Centre Midfield, CAM- Centre Attacking Midfield, RF- Right Forward, LF- Left Forward, )

 

GK- Edouard Mendy- Made one good save from Erick Lamella’s long-range effort. Apart from that rarely troubled as Chelsea’s defense keeps Tottenham’s attack quiet. Had one nervy moment as he misplaced his pass but the defense able to recover it and it’s a 3rd clean sheet in a row for him. Rating- 6/10

 

CB- Azpilicueta –  Defensively solid again. Had few nervy moments but he recovers it back well. Again goes forward sometimes to support James on the right side. Rating 7/10

 

CB- Thiago Silva- The best defender on the pitch until he went off with a thigh injury in the 38th minute. At his usual calm and composed with the ball and won every his aerial duels. Vinicius will be the relief man from his injury because the Tottenham striker was bullied by the 36 years old Brazilian but unfortunately went off early with an injury and hoping it’s not a serious injury to him.  Rating 7/10

 

CB- Ruedigar- The best defender for the whole 90 minutes. He was ruthless and aggressive; Steven Bergwijn couldn’t get joy on the left side as Ruedigar dealt everything comes towards him. Rating 7.5/10

 

RWB- Reece James- First start under the new manager and produced an impressive display. Defend it well against Son and also goes forward well but his crossing was not at his best today. And had some good crosses as well but it was cleared by the Tottenham players who were compact inside their penalty area when Chelsea attack it. Overall he impressed the new manager and pushing for the place in the startling 11 again. Rating 7/10

 

LWB- Marcos Alonso – I questioned about his defensive qualities in my match preview and I predicted Chilwell to start but Alonso Proved me and his doubters are wrong with his defensive qualities today. Not many opportunities to attack as Chelsea’s main threat all come from the right side of the field but Alonso defend it well today as he has the team-high most ball recoveries, most aerials won, most take-ons completed, most interception, and most clearances for Chelsea. Another player who had his Chelsea career back on track under the new manager. Rating 7.5/10

CM- Jorginho- Calm and composed in the Midfield. Scored the only goal of the match from the penalty spot, not only his goal his overall display was very impressive and he nearly could be the man of the match but only denied by another outstanding player. Day by day he is becoming a very important player for Chelsea in the Midfield and a player that rejuvenated under Thomas Tuchel.  Rating 8/10

 

CM- Mateo Kovacic- I have mentioned in my preview that the midfield battle could decide the match and that what was happened today. Alongside Jorginho, Kovacic controlled the midfield and again some driving through runs in the central of Tottenham’s midfield. He also had some sloppy passes and his decision-making was poor in certain situations especially in the second half after he runs pass from Tottenham’s midfield, Mount was free inside Tottenham’s penalty box and could be a clear goal-scoring opportunity for Mount. But Kovacic decided to go by himself and end up being a disappointing attempt of target by him. Apart from that another good display from the Croatian International. Rating-7.5/10

 

CAM- Mason Mount- Man of the Match. A real attacking threat and didn’t give a moment of peace for Tottenham’s defense as they struggled to contain him. But he needs to improve on his final 3rd passing and shooting. Had one good opportunity in the first half but his poor shot was blocked by Tottenham’s defense. Forced Hugo Lloris to make a good save from his left-footed shot from the edge of the box and pressed the defense throughout the match with his high-intensity energetic runs. Rating 8.5/10

 

RF- Hudson Odoi- started in the right side of the attack after his wing-back role on the previous 2 games but today his majority position was like a Secondary Striker. Not the same level as his previous man of match performances but it was another good display from him. Had few shoots just passed wide of the post and alongside Reece James they both combined well at a certain time to create a lot of problems for Ben Devies on the right side of the attacking half.  Rating 7/10

 

ST Timo Werner- Involved in the decisive moment of the match as he won the penalty after fouled by Eric Dier. Had few good runs and it’s not enough to guarantee for staying in the starting line-up with this display. Had 4 attempts but nothing on target. His first touch and hold-up play was poor for the Majority of the Match and surprised to see him last for the full 90 minutes. He needs to improve and start scoring goals before either Tammy Abraham or Olivier Giroud took his place in the starting 11. Rating 5.5/10 

 

Substitution

Andreas Christensen for Thiago silva- came on for the injured Brazilian on the 36 minutes and did a good job for the team. Looking more comfortable in the center of back 3 and in contention to start the next match for the injured Thiago Silva- Rating 6.5/10

 

Christian Pulisic for Hudson Odoi- came on for the last 25 minutes had some good moments but again another player made poor decision-making. After his thriving run from Tottenham’s midfield, Reece James was having a lot of spaces on the right side but Pulisic goes for the wrong option and the Tottenham defense was able to recover from this attack. Overall Decent but he should improve his decision making - Rating 6/10

 

 

 Ngolo Kante for Mateo Kovacic- not a good last 15 minutes cameos from him. Loses the ball couple of the time in the midfield and booked for a rough foul on Locus Moura after he loses the ball. Looking like needs more time for back to his full fitness level after his return from the hamstring injury.  Rating 4/10

 

Manager

 

Thomas Tuchel- His game plan and tactics are working well for Chelsea and spot-on for this match. Chelsea dominates Tottenham in every department. Defensively the team looking really strong and going forward the team looking a threat. But now the players should start to take responsibility and implement his game plan. The manager cannot go on to the field and makes the good decision making. The players should do that on the pitch. In today’s performance if the players take good decision-making and good final 3rd passes Chelsea could have won this match by scoring 4 or 5 goals. Tuchels Tactics are working well for Chelsea and he is improving the team a lot game by game and the players also now should improve themselves.

Rating 9/10; Passed his 1st biggest test, the first manager has kept clean sheets in each of his first 3 matches since Jose Mourinho in 2004. Promising signs for Chelsea under his management