Tottenham went down 2-0 to a depleted Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in a third defeat on the bounce as Mauricio Pochettino completed a double over his former club.
Spurs’ vulnerability at set-pieces was exposed again in the first half when Trevoh Chalobah ghosted into the box unmarked to head home Conor Gallagher’s free-kick.
Spurs rallied after the interval but Chelsea got a second when Nicolas Jackson headed into an empty net after Cole Palmer’s free-kick had come back off the bar.
Dan Kilpatrick was at Stamford Bridge to rate the Tottenham players...
Guglielmo Vicario 6
Well beaten by Chalobah’s looping header after Spurs’ left the defender unmarked, and powerless to prevent Jackson’s second.
Pedro Porro 5
Struggled to pin down Mykhailo Mydryk and his final poor was often wayward.
Cristian Romero 8
Went close to another goal in the first half and was Spurs’ best player with and without the ball.
Micky van de Ven 7
Made a series of covering challenges and brought the ball out of defence well.
Uncomfortable inverting into midfield and repeatedly beaten by Noni Madueke and Cole Palmer.
Yves Bissouma 5
Appeared to be the subject of Postecoglou’s wrath in the first half for not moving the ball forward enough. Some of his passing was eye-catching but still nowhere near his dynamic best.
Pape Sarr 5
Had one of Spurs’ only chances of note in the first half, a shot blocked by Chalobah. Energetic but passing was sloppy and a loose pass led to an early chance for Nicolas Jackson.
Dejan Kulusevski 4
Subdued on his big audition for the No.10 spot and gave away the free-kick leading to Chelsea’s second goal.
"He has snapped"
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 2, 2024
Ange Postecoglou is not happy 😡 pic.twitter.com/eC0HKNa38v
Brennan Johnson 4
Consistently failed to beat his man, be it Marc Cucurella or Alfie Gilchrist, and his final ball was mixed. Missed a huge chance to pull a goal back shortly at 2-0.
Struggled to make an impression from the left or when he moved to centre-forward. Looks tired and short of confidence.
Richarlison 4
Offered little goal threat on his first start since mid-February and was largely a passenger.
Substitutes
James Maddison (Sarr 63’) 5
Briefly added a spark to lifeless Spurs but their revival was quickly ended by Chelsea’s second goal.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Bissouma 63’) 6
Stuggled to adust to the pace of the game but created one of Spurs’ best chances with a back-post cross for Johnson.
Rodrigo Bentancur (Richarlison 63’) 7
Had two late sights of goal after some neat exchanges of passes.
Bryan Gil (Johnson 78’) 5
A surprising late introduction. Easily marshalled by Chelsea’s defence.
Giovani Lo Celso (Emerson 85’) 6
Actually added a bit of intent on the ball but didn’t have much time.
