Chelsea made a big statement in their Premier League title race as Cole Palmer inspired them to a 4-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
In an epic battle between the London rivals, Spurs went 2-0 up inside 11 minutes as Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski benefited from not one but two Marc Cucurella slips.
However, Jadon Sancho hit back just six minutes later to keep Chelsea in the match and the second half sparked riots.
Palmer pulled Chelsea equalized just after the hour mark from the penalty spot, while Enzo Fernandez curled in a superb left-footed volley to give the visitors the lead.
And it was Palmer who finished the job in the 84th minute, sending Fraser Forster red-hot with a penalty for Panenka, ensuring Son Heung-min’s late strike was no more than a consolation.
Chelsea are now just four points clear of Liverpool in the title race.
Read on for the full player ratings from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Tottenham v Chelsea player ratings: Cole Palmer torments Spurs
Tottenham Hotspur Player Ratings
Fraser Forster – 7/10 – Spurs would have been out of the game fairly quickly without some very smart saves from their keeper.
Pedro Porro – 6/10 – He set up Kulusevski’s goal after Cucurella’s second slip. He did a lot of defensive work, making seven recoveries, five clearances and a tackle, while winning 5/6 of the combined ground and aerial duels. However, it was too late to reach Fernandez for Chelsea’s winner.
Christian Romero – 6/10 – He barely had a chance to start before he went off injured again.
Micky van de Ven – 5/10 – He conceded a good chance in the second half. It was okay, but it seemed pedantic at times. He would have benefited from an early retirement, but that wasn’t possible when Romero pulled out, leading to another hamstring tweak.
Destiny Udogie – 4/10 – He didn’t impact the game as much afterwards as Porro and was beaten too easily by Palmer in the strike for Chelsea’s third.
Yves Bissouma – 3/10 – What was he thinking with that bath in Caicedo? From that moment on, you couldn’t see anything but Chelsea winning this match.
Pope Sar – 3/10 – He rattled the post with a header in the first half. Like Bishuma, he came in for a ridiculous challenge from behind on Palmer.
Dejan Kulusevski – 6/10 – He took his goal brilliantly but was unusually quiet other than that. Kulusevski completed just nine passes and failed to find his mark with all three crosses he attempted.
Brennan Johnson – 6/10 – He reacted strongly to Cucurella’s slide to set up the opener, but like Kulusevski, he was almost a passenger until he came off injured.
Dominic Solanke – 7/10 – He took his goal well and created some openings, but found himself too isolated.
Son Heung-min – 6/10 – He looked completely bereft of confidence in front of goal, missing two more big chances, but finally got on the scoresheet in the end. However, he needs to raise his game quickly to stop Spurs fading into obscurity this season.
Substitutes:
Radu Dragusin (15′, for Romero) – 6/10 – He shouldn’t be blamed for the goals and managed some important blocks to stop things from getting worse.
Timo Werner (53′, for Johnson) – 3/10 – He was on the field for that long;
James Maddison (79′, for Kulusevski) – 6/10 – Not enough time was given to start.
Archie Gray (79′, for Van De Ven) – 6/10 – It was okay given the situation he was in.
Lucas Bergvall (79′, for Bisuma) – 6/10 – As above.
Chelsea player ratings
Robert Sanchez – 4/10 – He wasn’t covered in goalscoring glory thanks to some awful positioning and his kicking was way off the mark at times.
Moises Caicedo – 8/10 – He improved drastically when moved into midfield, pushing Spurs back and helping Chelsea dictate.
Benoit Badiashile – 6/10 – It seemed very awkward to play on the right of the centre-backs, but it improved when they switched to the left.
Levi Colwill – 6/10 – He missed a decent chance early on and missed Solanke in Spurs’ opener, but improved after that to make some important interventions.
Marc Cucurella – 5/10 – Can we rate his boots? They would get 1/10 if so! In all seriousness, fair play to Cucurella for the outstanding performance after he slid in twice to help the Spurs go up 2-0.
Romeo Lavia – 7/10 – He completed all 28 of his passes in the first half and showed some real moments of class before latching on to take Malo Gusto, a natural right-back, onto the pitch.
Enzo Fernandez – 8/10 – He controlled the tempo in the middle and took his goal brilliantly on his left foot.
Pedro Neto – 7/10 – He seemed on the verge of brilliance, but stood out more for his relentless work rate.
Cole Palmer – 9/10 – He took his penalties brilliantly, teasing Forster in the second. He was devastating from open play, too, completing four dribbles and creating four chances.
Jadon Sancho – 8/10 – Scored a superb goal to get Chelsea back into the game and had Poro on the back foot throughout.
Nicolas Jackson – 4/10 – It provided a decent physical outlet, but was too far from the point of the ball. He missed the target with all three shots, failed to complete any of his five dribbles and failed on his one cross attempt.
Substitutes:
Bad taste (46′, for Lavia) – 8/10 – Wreaked havoc in the final third and helped Chelsea tremendously with the balance he provided.
Christopher Nkunku (76′, for Jackson) – 5/10 – He did not enter the game.
Noni Madueke (86′, for Neto) – 5/10 – Not enough time was given to affect the match.
Renato Veiga (90′, for Cucurella) – N/A – It was done in the end.
Joao Felix (90′, for Palmer) – N/A – As above.
