Chelsea played host to London rivals Tottenham Hotspur FC on Sunday in a tie that was expected to give us some idea of who would be the main side to challenge the dominance of Manchester City and Liverpool this term.
Both sides headed into the game after securing wins on the opening weekend, but Chelsea were likely the more confident side as Spurs have a dismal record at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea started the match at a much higher tempo than Spurs, pressing well and also recovering the ball quickly.
And it was the Blues who took the lead after 19 minutes via Kalidou Koulibaly. Marc Cucurella whipped in a corner for the centre-back to smash home with his left foot.
CUCURELLA ➡️ KOULIBALY 💥
Chelsea’s new signings combine to put them in front – what a VOLLEY! 🔵 pic.twitter.com/CcrZnaPaDi
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 14, 2022
Tottenham had a brighter start to the second half and Harry Kane should have equalised after 61 minutes but fluffed his lines.
They then equalised after 68 minutes through Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, though Chelsea likely felt hard done by as Havertz was fouled in the build-up to the goal.
However, Chelsea failed to hold on and Kane secured Tottenham a point in the 95th minute.
📰 Table Of Contents
Chelsea player ratings
Edouard Mendy (6.5) – Good save to deny Sessegnon 22 minutes in. Couldn’t do much about Hojbjerg’s goal. Made another big save in injury time.
Reece James (8) – Kept Son quiet until the end of the first half when he was booked for bringing the winger down. Put a superb cross on a plate for Havertz who missed, but got his own goal a few minutes later.
Thiago Silva (6) – A quiet but solid display from the Brazilian.
Kalidou Koulibaly (7) – Scored with an excellent strike for the opener and was a nightmare from set-pieces all day.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (7) – Did a solid job at wing-back, pressed well and won the ball back a fair bit, pushing inside to help overload Spurs’ midfield. Should have had an assist but Sterling fired his chance over.
Marc Cucurella (5) – Whipped in a great corner for the opening goal. Poor marking for the final goal.
Jorginho (6.5) – Controlled the tempo of the tie well in the first half. But he did give the ball away by failing to clear it from his own box in the build-up to the equaliser.
N’Golo Kante (8) – Was very much like the Kante of old vs Spurs, pressing well, winning the ball back and driving forward. He also prevented Kane from dropping deep and receiving the ball too often. Injured late on.
Mason Mount (6.5) – Mount’s pressing was great and he linked up well with the rest of Chelsea’s attackers.
Raheem Sterling (6) – Linked up well with Havertz. Missed a big chance 60 minutes in. Set up James for his goal.
Kai Havertz (4) – Should have done better with a chance 18 minutes in and again 75 minutes in.
Substitutes
Cesar Azpilicueta (3) – Failed to help Chelsea see out the game.
Conor Gallagher (3) – Lively when he came on but didn’t do too much.
Armando Broja (N/A)
Tottenham player ratings
Hugo Lloris (5) – Made an excellent save to deny Havertz early on. Couldn’t do much about the Koulibaly goal.
Cristian Romero (6) – Won a number of ground duels and his passing was decent.
Eric Dier (5.5) – Made some key interceptions and won several aerial duels.
Ben Davies (5) – Was decent at left-centre-back in the first half. Moved to left-back 55 minutes in, and failed to pick up James for his goal.
Emerson Royal (5) – Lost possession a fair bit and struggled to provide an attacking threat.
Ryan Sessegnon (5) – Should have done better when he was through on goal. Off after 55 minutes.
Rodrigo Bentancur (4) – Had a hard time controlling play thanks to the Chelsea press.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (6) – Failed to deal with Chelsea’s forward line effectively in the first half. Excellent long-range strike to draw Spurs level.
Dejan Kulusevski (4) – Saw little of the ball throughout the game.
Heung-min Son (5.5) – Was largely kept quiet by James. Won the ball back from Jorginho before Hojbjerg scored.
Harry Kane (6) – Isolated in the first half but began to provide some key passes to Son as the game went on. Missed a big chance shortly after the hour mark. Scored the second equaliser to hand Spurs a point.
Substitutes
Richarlison (5) – Caused Chelsea’s backline problems when he came on.
Ivan Perisic (5.5) – Caused some issues for Chelsea when he came on and put in the corner that led to Tottenham equalising.
Yves Bissouma (3) – Was not bad but he failed to nullify the threat of Chelsea’s midfielders.
Lucas (3) – Did little of note.
Fan reaction
Thomas Tuchel masterclass in that first half. Only negative from that half is Chelsea are not more than 1-0 up
— Conn (@ConnCFC) August 14, 2022
Fantastic half from Chelsea. The press on Spurs has been suffocating and in possession we’ve moved the ball around confidently & with real zip.
A shame we don’t have 2 goals to show for it but we should have real encouragement for the 2nd half.
— Alex Goldberg (@AlexGoldberg_) August 14, 2022
What the experts said
Foul on Kai plus offside from Richarlison. Shocking.
— Cesc Fàbregas Soler (@cesc4official) August 14, 2022
I’ve got to start having more faith. I did not expect Chelsea to dominate the game like this. Excellent performances all over and great to see a goal created and scored by new signings. Too bad RLC didn’t score that, he’s been excellent too #CHETOT
— Alison Bender (@alibendertv) August 14, 2022
The link between Son and Kane has been fully broken by an immense tactical plan by Tuchel.
Reece James integral to stopping Son with a man marking job. He has still managed to dispossess Kane as well but Kante is putting a lot of work on stopping Kane dropping deep #CFC #CHETOT
— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) August 14, 2022
As of half-time, it has now been 711 minutes of Premier League football since a Tottenham player last scored against Chelsea. 🤯
— Squawka (@Squawka) August 14, 2022
Complete and utter dominance from Chelsea in this first half. 10/10 performance from everyone so far. #CFC #THFC
— Olivia Buzaglo (@OliviaBuzaglo) August 14, 2022
All the pre-season pats on the back, all the talk yet it’s same old story at Stamford Bridge. Tuchel’s got it spot on so far. Tottenham’s midfield really struggling. Chelsea more than deserve their lead. Changes needed. #CFC #THFC
— Michael Bridge (@MichaelBridge_) August 14, 2022
Kante better than everyone else on the pitch as usual. Like having an extra man for Chelsea.
— tariq panja (@tariqpanja) August 14, 2022
