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22 December 2019

Tottenham-Chelsea Player Ratings  (Sky Sports)

Chelsea celebrate Willian's goalHow the players on show at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium performed as Chelsea sealed a 2-0 victory over Spurs.

TOTTENHAM PLAYER RATINGS

Paulo Gazzaniga - 4

Rash error gifted Chelsea their second goal on the stroke of half-time, clattering into Alonso after inexplicably failing to grab an over-hit through-ball.

Serge Aurier - 4

Poor. Struggled in possession and struggled to stem the flow of Chelsea attacks which fcoused on his side of the pitch. At fault for Chelsea's opener, allowing Willian too much time and space before being beaten with ease.

Toby Alderweireld - 6

Solid enough but didn't ever get to grips with the game and the threat Chelsea possessed from start to finish.

Davinson Sanchez - 5

Appeared to be ruffled by Chelsea's high-press and Tottenham's inability to pass out from the back was a major contributing factor to the stuttering display.

Jan Vertonghen - 5

Selected at left-back and was made to look pedestrian by Chelsea's young attackers. Replaced after 75 minutes.

Eric Dier - 4

Subbed at half-time after an utterly ineffectual 45 minutes. The game simply passed him by.

Moussa Sissoko - 8

Tottenham's best player. Fortunate to avoid censure for clattering into Kepa, escaping a yellow for a foul which could have brought on a red card, but every other element of his whole-hearted display in a losing cause was admirable.

Lucas Moura - 5

Bewilderingly anonymous and hardly saw the ball as Chelsea took the upper hand. His position on the right-hand side of Tottenham's midfield may have been a mitigating factor, but did he do enough to make his presence felt?

Dele Alli - 6

His effort couldn't be questioned but the more Tottenham struggled, the more indisciplined and ragged his performance became. Had a couple of half-hearted penalty appeals turned down late on, but his lack of impact was hugely disappointing.

Heung-min Son - 4

Hadn't featured particularly prominently before being sent off for kicking out at Rudiger. The offence may have been petulant rather than malicious but his actions gave VAR little choice.

Harry Kane - 5

Starved of possession but also blazed his one and only clear sight of goal high and wide.

CHELSEA PLAYER RATINGS

Kepa Arrizabalaga - 6

Had just one shot to save all afternoon as Chelsea defied pre-match expectations by utterly nullifying their hosts.

Cesar Azpilicueta - 7

Not a natural wing-back but adapted to his new role with the sort of diligent and tenacious display that has become his trademark.

Antonio Rudiger - 7

Fully vindicated his inclusion as Chelsea's new-look defensive shape completely overwhelmed Tottenham's attack. Better still, he kept his cool amid alleged racist abuse.

Kurt Zouma - 7

Given the central berth among Chelsea's three centre-halves and didn't put a foot wrong. Only noticeable moment of alarm was when he brought down Alli with 10 minutes of normal time remaining, an offence which VAR confirmed had taken place a matter of millimetres outside of the box.

Fikayo Tomori - 8

A real talent already at the age of 22. On the left-hand side of Chelsea's defensive three, he was close to faultless.

Marcos Alonso - 7

Give him due for chasing down the lost cause that ultimately resulted in Chelsea's penalty kick being awarded by VAR. The less said about his fall to the ground a few moments before the better.

N'Golo Kante - 8

Is his change of role beginning to win over the critics? Linked defence and attack from first to last without ever letting his energy levels fall. 'Version One Kante' is surely now only a thing of the past.

Mateo Kovacic - 7

Delivered a couple of exquisite through-balls as Chelsea dominated from the first minute. His second-half withdrawal was a tad surprising, but Jorginho's introduction meant the visitors continued to command the ball as they played down time.

Mason Mount - 9

The game's outstanding protagonist. Pulled the strings and prompted attack after attack with deft passing and clever running. A star act.

Willian - 9

In the words of Sky Sports' Gary Neville, Willian was "simply sensational", oozing class and confidence from the moment he waltzed into Spurs' penalty area and planted his shot into the corner of their net. Cool and calm from the penalty spot, some of his passing in the second half was breathtaking.

Tammy Abraham - 8

Despite not offering much of a goal threat, the Chelsea striker's mobility and sharp running played a pivotal role in proceedings as he kept the Tottenham defence fully stretched and left plenty of space in which Mount and Willian could wreak havoc.

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