Goals from Trevoh Chalobah and Nicolas Jackson earned Chelsea a 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Thursday, dealing a blow to Spurs’ hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League. .
The former Chalobah academy defender deftly headed the ball into the top corner following a Conor Gallagher free kick 35 yards out in the 24th minute.
Senegal’s Jackson calmed the home nerves during the course of the game in the 72nd minute when he was on hand to head in after a free kick from Chelsea’s top scorer Cole Palmer hit the crossbar and rebounded.
The three points, which moved them up to eighth place, were vital to Chelsea’s progress, under former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino, towards a Europa League place after a disappointing season, but left Tottenham seven points behind. of the first four.
Mail Sport’s Kieran Gill rated the players.
Chelsea left back Marc Cucurella did a warrior’s job in defense against Tottenham
CHELSEA (4-2-3-1)
Djordje Petrovic – 7.5
He should have brought a crossword to keep him busy as Tottenham barely gave him anything to do in the first half. He remained alert in the second half to keep a clean sheet.
Alfie Gilchrist – 8.5
Gilchrist versus Son was essentially the least experienced player on the field versus the most experienced and yet the 20-year-old from Chelsea handled the occasion magnificently.
Trevoh Chalobah – 8.5
With a towering header that gave Chelsea a deserved lead, followed by VAR taking too long to verify it, Chalobah also showed his defensive talents whenever needed on a night of dominance.
Benoit Badiashile – 8.5
After a superb second-half performance at Aston Villa, Badiashile again demonstrated his defensive solidity as he and Chalobah earned every penny of their clean sheet bonus.
Marc Cucurella – 9
Performance full of positivity as he advanced towards midfield when Chelsea had the ball, while doing a warrior’s job defensively as Johnson and company struggled to overcome him. My player of the match.
Moisés Caicedo – 8.5
Caicedo has benefited from having Gallagher, or at least a fully fit teammate, alongside him in midfield and this was another game in which he showed why Chelsea signed him.
Midfielder Conor Gallagher injected energy into the heart of an injury-ravaged Chelsea side
Conor Gallagher – 8.5
The Chelsea fans put on a huge display for him before the game and he injected energy into the heart of this injury-ravaged team. He set up Chalobah for his first headed goal.
Noni Madueke – 8.5
A 20-yard shot went over the bar (we’ll blame the bubble) in the middle of what was a positive performance down the right. He also never shirked his defensive duties to help Gilchrist.
Cole Palmer – 8
A free kick from 25 yards hit the underside of the crossbar so Jackson could head in Chelsea’s second goal on a night when every player worked hard for the team.
Mykhailo Mudryk – 8
Energy force on the left. When Mudryk plays with such confidence, it’s a joy to watch, and he came within inches of curling an effort into the top corner.
Nicholas Jackson – 8
He tried to pass the ball between Vicario’s legs but Van de Ven recovered to deny him on the line. There was no stopping him from bouncing head first, of course!
SUBS
Cesare Casadei (by Mudryk, 75) – 6, Josh Acheampong (by Gilchrist, 85) – N/A, Jimi Tauriainen (by Jackson, 90) – N/A, Marcus Bettinelli. David Washington, Zak Sturge, Leo Castledine, Tyrique George, Kiano Dyer
MANAGER
Mauricio Pochettino – 8
In the face of the injury crisis that has gripped Chelsea, he inspired his players to put in a performance in which they fully deserved the three points.
Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah capped an impressive performance with a magnificent header
TOTTENHAM (4-2-3-1)
Guglielmo Vicario – 5
Nick of the ball took the pace of Jackson’s attempt in the first exchanges. But there was no way to reach Chalobah or Jackson’s headers. Once again, he was targeted in the corners.
Pedro Porro – 4.5
It’s interesting to see how Porro tried to prevent Chelsea’s attackers from distracting Vicario in the corners; It seems that Postecoglou finally decided to try to solve that problem.
Cristian Romero – 4.5
One of Tottenham’s only chances in a poor first half fell to Romero, but he headed wide when he should have been burying this chance all day.
Micky van de Ven – 5.5
The Premier League’s fastest player this season showed his pace when he came back to prevent Jackson from scoring, one of several times we witnessed his speed.
Emerson Royal – 4
Bad attempt to win a penalty when he pretended Madueke had returned it. That turned into a good battle, which the man in Chelsea blue eventually won.
Yves Bissouma – 4
Postecoglou was angrier than ever and Bissouma was on the receiving end of some of his most aggressive tantrums amid a timid display.
Tottenham captain Heung-min Son had a night to forget at Stamford Bridge
Paper Kill Sarr – 4
There weren’t enough progressive passes and it was too passive as Gallagher and company controlled the centre. It’s no surprise that he was among those hooked on a triple substitution.
Brennan Johnson – 5
I felt like Cucurella had blocked him while Chalobah was heading home, but let’s not pretend this was a scandal. Offense-wise, Johnson was arguably the best of a bad bunch.
Dejan Kulusevski – 4
Maddison was benched when Kulusevski started in the middle but they barely threatened, while it was his foul on Cucurella that led to Chelsea’s second goal from a free kick.
Heung Min’s Son – 4
He faced a 20-year-old in Gilchrist and yet he never imposed his experience on the young Englishman. Nobody in a Tottenham shirt did enough here, including their captain.
Richarlison – 4
He never looked like a viable outlet as a striker and could well have been wearing an invisibility cloak when he was substituted after an hour of anonymity.
SUBS
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (for Bissouma, 63) – 5.5, James Maddison (for Richarlison, 63) – 5.5, Rodrigo Bentancur (for Sarr, 63) – 5.5, Bryan Gil (for Johnson, 78) – N/A, Giovani Lo Celso (by Emerson, 86) – N/A, Brandon Austin, Oliver Skipp, Radu-Matei Dragusin, Mikey Moore
Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou shouts at midfielder Yves Bissouma during a timid first half
MANAGER
Ángel Postécoglou – 4
He was really furious with his players as they never showed the attacking football he wants and once again Tottenham conceded not one but two set pieces.
REFEREE
Robert Jones – 6
Much easier night than the one Mark Clattenburg suffered in 2016, even if we had to wait too long for the VAR to approve Chalobah’s first headed goal.
