Dier 4/10 for dour defensive play as Spurs sputter in loss to Chelsea

Tottenham Hotspur dropped to eighth in the Premier League table after losing 1-0 to Chelsea, the first time they have dropped two matches in a row since moving into their stadium in 2019.

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Jorginho’s penalty midway through the second half was all that separated both teams that are fighting for European football next season. Tottenham’s chances were limited with only two shots registered on target all game. Jose Mourinho’s side return to action on Sunday when hosting struggling West Bromwich Albion.

Positives

Hard to pinpoint many positives from a performance that saw only two shots registered on target. Hugo Lloris played well to keep the visitors to just the one goal after pulling off a couple of fine saves. Erik Lamela injected some pace into the hosts’ attacking threat when joining play too. However this will be a performance the squad will want to quickly put behind them.

Negatives

An abysmal first half didn’t necessarily define the second, but Spurs in large parts of the game appeared to make play up as they went along. There was no shape and zero press on Chelsea when the hosts were out of possession. A consequence of this was the hosts struggled to move the ball forward, and with a sole striker in Vinicius offering little movement up front this evening always had the ingredients to be a recipe for disaster.

Manager rating (out of 10)

4 — Chelsea were allowed to get runners in behind Mourinho’s defenders on too many occasions, despite Moussa Sissoko and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg adopting more defensive roles than usual. This unwelcome trait is not alien to Spurs and the sooner it is eradicated from their game the better. Fans will be hoping Harry Kane’s pending return will provide the club with a much-needed lift with just four points secured from their last five games.

Spurs’ defender Eric Dier conceded a penalty, allowing Chelsea to score the minimum needed for a win. Getty

Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best, players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)

GK: Hugo Lloris, 6 — Helpless to concede the game’s first goal despite guessing the direction of Jorginho’s penalty correctly midway through the first half. Made a number of strong saves and blocks otherwise, noticeably from Mason Mount in the second half shortly after fisting away a dangerous outswinging cross from the right.

DF: Serge Aurier, 6 — Was the subject of Spurs’ only meaningful attempt in the first half when heading Son’s inswinging free kick wide of the visitors’ goal. In more familiar territory, Aurier showed strong character particularly when making a vital last-ditch tackle on Werner when the German was through on goal.

DF: Eric Dier, 4 — Conceded a poor penalty when dragging Timo Werner to the floor when attempting to clear a loose ball midway through the first half. His play was littered with clumsy passes and too often Chelsea were able to win back possession with ease as a result. A poor pass back to Lloris that almost left Dier red-faced epitomised his game.

DF: Toby Alderweireld, 5 — A fair performance from Alderweireld who perhaps feels aggrieved with the performances of his defensive teammates. Outstanding positional play at times to delay the visitors’ ability to advance play forward. Adding some speed into his game could add another dimension to Spurs’ game.

DF: Ben Davies, 5 — Had to endure an extremely tough first half as Chelsea dominated possession down the right. It would be easy to single out Davies’ performance as a weak link in Spurs’ overall team efficiency, but in truth the defender lacked protection and too often was caught in near impossible two on one situations.

MID: Moussa Sissoko, 5 — Dropped into the back four on occasions to protect Spurs’ defenders, but this freed up too much room for Mason Mount which he exploited and Chelsea’s game benefitted as a result. Worryingly lacked urgency at times too which suited the visitors’ heavy press tactic, a surprise they didn’t score more than one.

MID: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, 5 — A disappointment in midfield for Spurs who were generally static amid defenders’ efforts to push play forward. Came concerningly close to picking up a second yellow card on more than one occasion too. MID Steven Bergwijn, 5 – Must play with more urgency if Spurs are to press forward with more urgency. Too often defenders were left with limited options when looking up to move the ball forward and it’s possible Bergwijn was taken off the field for that reason.

MID Tanguy Ndombele, 5 — The plan would have certainly been for Ndombele to adopt a more attacking role with Sissoko and Hojbjerg tucked in behind but in front of the defence. Though the Frenchman showed pockets of creativity his performance was generally underwhelming to mirror the output of those around him. Subbed.

MID Son Heung-Min, 6 — Struggle for goals continued, both in present times and against Chelsea where he has struck just twice in 12 games against Spurs’ London rivals. Should’ve dropped in amid the visitors’ relentless pressing to help the struggling Davies out. Played a minimal role.

FWD Carlos Vinicius, 5 — Set a big task playing up front alone while Kane is poised to return in the coming weeks. Relied heavily on long balls dropping to his feet but they simply did not come. Admittedly the wet surface wasn’t favourable to suit any long ball tactic, but Vinicius’ involvement was minimal regardless.

Substitutes

MID Erik Lamela, 6 — Injected some energy into Spurs’ game when coming on for Ndombele with little over 20 minutes remaining. Lacked support from those around him.

MID Lucas Moura, 5 — Didn’t quite have the attacking impact Jose Mourinho would’ve wanted when he came on for Bergwijn.