Chelsea‘s top-four hopes were further dented by a 2-0 defeat at Tottenham.
Oliver Skipp and Harry Kane’s second-half strikes saw Spurs put a 14-point gap between them and the Blues in the race for Champions League qualification.
Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly watched on in another frustrating afternoon as another defeat intensified the pressure on Graham Potter.
Nizaar Kinsella was at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium witnessing Chelsea’s latest setback...
Got a hand to Skipp’s goal but should have done better. Also spilt a shot from Royal moments before the first goal.
Reece James 5
Took the captain’s armband in Silva’s absence but was once again quite limited in attack as he builds his fitness.
Kalidou Koulibaly 5
Arguably both he and Chilwell struggled in the initial attack down their side that led to the goal.
Thiago Silva 6
Effectively had one action to tackle Harry Kane inside his own penalty area but it resulted in him suffering a knee injury, seeing him go off in the 19th minute.
Ben Chilwell 6
After such a long spell out injured, the left-back looked like himself again at left-back, flying up and down the flanks at speed. Looked better going forward than defensively.
Enzo Fernandez 6
At the heart of Chelsea’s possession-based dominance, the midfielder also almost scored in the 25th minute with a curling edge-of-the-box shot that was blocked. His clearance could have been better but landed at the feet of Skipp as he struck from range to make it 1-0.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek 4
A quiet match in midfield, offering little in attack, coming off in the 62nd minute.
Raheem Sterling 6
A real danger throughout with his direct dribbling and ability to get touches in Tottenham’s box. He saw a shot saved in the 43rd minute after a good run at Emerson Royal.
Linked well with Sterling, typically offering himself for the ball between the lines, wasted a dangerous shooting position early on. Booked after pushing Emerson. Like the others, went quiet in the second half.
Hakim Ziyech 4
Lucky not to be sent off after a push or slap to Emerson Royal’s face. Offered little threat in open play but his set pieces were good. Substituted in the 62nd minute.
Kai Havertz 5
The German foward linked well with others, but as so typical in his current run of form, barely offered any threat on goal.
Subs:
Wesley Fofana 7
The £75million man came on for Silva and was very steady in both possession and through his reading of the game. It was just his eighth appearance and he completed his most minutes since October 1, excelling in his time on the pitch.
Mason Mount 5
The 24-year-old looked angry in his 30-minute spell on the pitch, getting booked for dissent. Remarkably, he was found marking Eric Dier who won the flick-on for Kane’s goal.
Denis Zakaria 5
Made little impact from midfield in his first appearance for six weeks.
Mykhailo Mudryk N/A
Pierre Emerick Aubameyang N/A
Unused subs: Bettinelli, Badiashile, Gallagher, Madueke.
