Tottenham player ratings vs Chelsea as 8/10 star proves the only silver lining

The full-time whistle has blown at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Spurs take on Chelsea in the London derby, and the player ratings are in.

Let’s take a look at how the Tottenham players got on.

Tottenham player ratings vs Chelsea

Guglielmo Vicario – Once again, Tottenham’s best player. Saved three of four point-blank shots that Chelsea would have backed themselves to bury. It’s always a worry when your goalkeeper is the MOTM every week. It could have been a cricket score if not for Vicario this evening. 8.

Pedro Porro – Disappointing performance from the mid-week captain. Sloppy on the ball in his own third and nowhere near his creative best at the opposite end of the pitch. A hesitant clearance in the first half almost gifted Chelsea a goal. 5.

Kevin Danso – Rock solid against Everton, Danso was anything but today. On the ball, he struggled to pass between the lines and looked like a deer in headlights against the Chelsea press. Even off the ball, he was strangely bullied at times by the opposition forwards. Not his usual solid self today. 4.

Micky Van de Ven – Made a huge blunder to hand Chelsea the opening goal after he had his pocket picked by Caicedo. His play on the ball has improved drastically this season, but it remains a weakness in his game. Nowhere near those Romero levels of passing. 4.

Djed Spence – Looked bright in the first half as he galloped infield on multiple occasions, but that disappeared in the second 45. To be fair, Tottenham had far fewer problems on his side defensively. 5.5.

Joao Palhinha – Looks made to be a solo pivot dropping in between the two centre-backs. The partnership with Bentancur continues to stall Tottenham’s progress from defence to attack. That being said, Palhinha had a decent individual performance in a rigid, rigid system. 6.

Rodrigo Bentancur – For a player who is so talented on the ball, Bentancur does not progress the play enough. Too many sideways and backwards passes. Had Tottenham’s best chance when the ball fell to him in the box, but he tried to control it instead of just swinging a foot. Was taken off at the hour mark. 4.

Mohammed Kudus – Tottenham’s only consistent bright spark going forward. Had the only shot on target in the first half. At times, he does need to learn to shoot with his right foot to avoid becoming predictable though. 6.5.

Pape Sarr – Tottenham were in desperate need of Sarr’s trademark high press today. Instead, it was Chelsea who deployed that particular game plan, and the game really passed Pape by. 5.

Lucas Bergvall – Forced off with a concussion after just a matter of minutes. N/A.

Randal Kolo Muani – You have to feel for him a little. He worked his socks off for 70 minutes, often pressing on his own up front. Tottenham were unable to create him a sniff in the final third, let alone a good chance. 5.5.

Substitutes:

Xavi Simons – Came on to replace Bergvall. Once again struggled with the physicality of the Premier League. Even when he showed a spark of creativity, it was quickly extinguished by weak physicality. Was taken off again after 70 minutes. 4.5.

Richarlison – Came on as a striker after 60 minutes but suffered the same problems as Muani. 5.

Cristian Romero – Nice to see the Spurs captain back. Even in his 30-minute cameo, he showed so much more quality on the ball than his fellow defenders. 6.

Destiny Udogie – Returned from injury to replace Pedro Porro for the final 20 minutes. 5.

Wilson Odobert – Missed the match in mid-week with a knock but returned to offer Spurs a more natural left-wing option. 5.

Brennan Johnson – Had very little of the ball in his 20-minute cameo. 5.