The first-half of this infamous contest between bitter rivals Spurs and Chelsea has drawn to a close and it’s time for player ratings, with Spurs holding all the cards as we head into the hiatus in North London.
Cristian Romero
Photo by Sam Liam Cornish
A shock return to the Starting XI
Prior to the game, many Spurs fans had come to terms with the fact that it was likely that Postecoglou only had one fit centre-back to name in his starting eleven. There were positive words said about the Argentine Romero’s availability, but nothing confirmational.
Against all odds, however, the Spurs manager has named both Romero and Micky van de Ven in his starting lineup for the hugely important match against London rivals Chelsea.
It’s a surprise to see both start, but it is surely a welcome one amongst the Spurs faithful as they are handed encouragement, and most importantly, hope ahead of this huge game.
The visitors come into this game with a full-strength starting eleven, whereas Spurs are still without goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.
Over the duration of the first-half, we’ve analysed each player’s individual performance, rating them on a scale of 1-10.
Chelsea
Spurs’ player ratings vs Chelsea
Fraser Forster: The veteran goalkeeper was beaten by a sweet strike from Sancho, despite getting fingertips to it. He got down twice to make a huge double save, denying Neto and Palmer on the half-hour mark. Impressing once again. 8.
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Pedro Porro: Porro combined well with Johnson on the right flank but defensively, he was lacklustre again. Too many times was Sancho free at the far post due to the Spaniard’s lack of awareness. 6.
Cristian Romero: Romero’s return to the starting eleven was cut short as he had to be replaced by Dragusin just before the quarter-hour mark. A disappointing steback. N/A.
Micky van de Ven: The Dutchman battled hard throughout the first-half, halting attacks and making vital interventions on a number of occassions. It’s brilliant to have you back, Micky! 8.
Destiny Udogie: Destiny was slightly sloppy at times although he was much better than he has been in recent weeks. It was an improved perfromance in an attacking sense too, but the Italian couldn’t create anything when he drifted into the middle of the park. 6.5.
Yves Bissouma: As the lone defensive midfielder, Biss often found himself outnumbered as the visitors’ attacked. It was too easy for the visitors to play through us. On the ball, he was tidy, but he could’ve done with a bit more help from Pape Matar Sarr in general. 6.
Pape Sarr: Sarr headed a shot onto the bar just minutes after he was on the end of a challenge that should’ve led to Caicedo seeing red. Throughout the half, he often left Bissouma exposed, so perhaps settling into a more deeper role in the second half will pay dividends. 6.
Dejan Kulusevski: It was a scintillating run from the Swede that led to a deft strike into the bottom corner, adding Spurs’ second. For most of the half he was bright, but he dropped off in intensity as we got closer to the interval. 8.
Brennan Johnson: The Welshman delivered a delightful cross into the path of Solanke after pouncing onto a Cucurella mistake. He terrorised his opposition full-back time and time again, forcing mistakes and creating opportunities in abundance. 8.
Dominic Solanke: It was Solanke‘s superb centre-forward play that led to the opening goal, as he stuck a leg out to meet the ball ahead of Colwill. The England international had a few more big chances throughout the half which he failed to convert, unfortunately. Overall though, Solanke was superb and he used his incredible hold-up play effectively. 9.
Son Heung-Min: The captain came agonisingly close to bending one of his trademark shots into the far corner, but it flew just over the crossbar. Sonny was really good at receiving the ball on the wing and flicking it inside, combining with Udogie and Sarr incredibly well. 7.5.
Substitues:
Radu Dragusin: Radu came on in place of the injured Romero just before the quarter-hour mark. He was strong, and he was up for it, and he made an outstanding challenge to deny Jackson before half-time. 7.
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