Spurs v Chelsea player ratings
Chelsea will feel confident about their chances of reaching the Carabao Cup final despite losing the first leg of the semi-final at Wembley. Here’s how we rated each Blues player against Tottenham.
Kepa Arrizabalaga: 6
Gave away the penalty which led to Harry Kane scoring Spurs’ goal, but he atoned with an excellent save to deny the striker.
Cesar Azpilicueta: 7
Solid as ever and looked to get forward when possible.
Antonio Rudiger: 8
An excellent performance at the back. Strong, imposing and won several challenges, particularly when Chelsea were under pressure in the first half.
Andreas Christensen: 6
Competed, but again looked less than convincing. Allowed Son to race ahead of him in the first half and was given the benefit of the doubt by referee Michael Oliver after the South Korean, who would have been through on goal, tumbled. But Christensen’s worst moment came at the other end, when should have equalised but managed to screw the ball wide when unmarked at the far post.
Marcos Alonso: 6
Not at his best, still. Did create a chance though with a low cross to N’Golo Kante, who hit the post.
Jorginho: 6
Competent, neat and tidy. But more was needed against a Spurs side with men behind the ball. Lots of passes, but nothing resembling a killer ball.
Ross Barkley: 5
Disappointing. And was taken off by Maurizio Sarri soon after the Blues boss was clearly irritated by Barkley giving the ball away.
N’Golo Kante: 8
Unlucky not to score when he nudged Alonso’s cross on to the post. His all-round display was terrific; full of energy and commitment. He covered a ridiculous amount of ground.
Willian: 6
Seemingly lacking sharpness, perhaps because of a recent calf injury, the Brazilian laboured before being taken off in the second half.
Callum Hudson-Odoi: 7
Exciting early on and almost scored a freak goal when his deflected effort was tipped on to the post. Faded in the second half though and was arguably fortunate not to be replaced sooner than the 80th minute.
Eden Hazard: 8
Brilliant in the second half. Ran Spurs ragged – but Chelsea just didn’t have a cutting edge.
Pedro: 7
Replaced Willian and was much livelier, helping Hazard put Spurs under huge pressure in the final quarter of the match.
Mateo Kovacic: 6
Did OK in midfield after replacing Barkley for the final 76 minutes. Olivier Giroud, who replaced Hudson-Odoi, had even less time to make an impact.
