Tottenham Frustrate Chelsea

Chelsea’s 13-match record-equalling Premier League winning streak ended at White Hart Lane on Wednesday, where Antonio Conte’s side were beaten 2-0 by Tottenham Hotspur. A brace from Dele Alli either side of the break, identikit headers both assisted by Christian Eriksen, settled the match in Spurs’ favour. The result was a fair reflection of a game in which the home side won the crucial battles for the flanks and midfield.

Positives

The key lesson for Conte is that neither his 3-4-3 system nor the regular nucleus of players he deploys to execute it are infallible. Despite losing, Chelsea still have a five-point cushion at the top of the league and the Blues boss will now have the opportunity to work on the pain points to ensure the lead is not eroded further.

Negatives

Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino set up his team perfectly in a 3-4-2-1 formation to snuff out Conte’s 3-4-3 and Chelsea laboured as a consequence, with wing-backs Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses and midfielder N’Golo Kante all struggling to cope with the intensity of their direct opponents.

Manager rating out of 10

6 — Conte was too slow on the uptake to realise that Spurs were dominating in key areas. An adjustment to the defence, going to four at the back might have been more effective in nullifying the threat of Eriksen and Alli and unhinging Pochettino’s strategy. A double substitution, bringing on Willian and Cesc Fabregas immediately after Alli’s second goal might have been more effective than what transpired.

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

GK Thibaut Courtois, 6 — Had little to do early on in a game of few chances. Made a good block from Eric Dier before being let down by the defence in front of him, meaning he had no chance with Alli’s first headed goal. Will look at replays of Alli’s second header that found the net and consider he might have been better positioned.

DF Cesar Azpilicueta, 5 — Made a reasonable fist of assisting in keeping Harry Kane quiet, unfortunately culpable of allowing Alli way too much freedom to ghost into position to head Eriksen’s pin-point crosses beyond Courtois.

DF David Luiz, 6 — Bossed Kane, but like Azpilicueta, failed to read the game sufficiently well to address the threat of Alli. Distribution from defence was above par and remained calm and composed throughout the contest.

DF Gary Cahill, 6 — Made several telling blocks before being yellow-carded for a blatant foul on Eriksen, who was already getting the better of Chelsea’s backline long before he teed up Alli for his first goal. A solid enough performance but will be disappointed as captain that the team on the whole didn’t rise to the occasion.

WB Victor Moses, 5 — Bossed too frequently on the right flank by Danny Rose for comfort and might have done a better job of stifling Alli’s rise to head the ball for Spurs’ opener. Got forward well and was unfortunate that referee Martin Atkinson didn’t spot a foul by Mousa Dembele that might have brought a free kick for Chelsea on the edge of the box.

WB Marcos Alonso, 5 — Like Moses, Alonso struggled with his Spurs wing-back counterpart, getting little change out of Kyle Walker. Ineffective forward play throughout brought about a swift substitution once Chelsea went two down.

MF Nemanja Matic, 7 — Benefitting from having been rested for the weekend encounter with Stoke City, Matic put in an energetic, combative display in midfield and had his eye on the ball making good use of it when in possession. Had life made difficult for him by an uncharacteristically poor performance from Kante.

MF N’Golo Kante, 5 — Failed to his impose usual authority as Victor Wanyama wrestled control of the midfield away from Chelsea. Always involved, but lost possession too easily and passing lacked precision. Replaced by Fabregas late on — a substitution that on reflection Conte may wish he’d made earlier.

FW Pedro, 5 — Always looked lightweight in attack and failed to slip Spurs’ defence and get into dangerous areas, amusingly invoking the wrath of Diego Costa early on for not doing so. Switched to left wing-back when Conte replaced Alonso with Willian on 65 minutes and did a good job of nullifying the threat of Walker.

FW Eden Hazard, 6 — Might have opened the scoring early on with a shot that just went wide of the post and thereafter found it difficult to find a way around Wanyama. Fluffed another chance in the second half on what was a frustrating night to forget for the Belgium international.

FW Diego Costa, 7 — Led Chelsea’s line well and worked tirelessly to find space but was let down by poor service and spent most of the game feeding off scraps.

Substitutes

FW Willian, 6 — Hopes that Willian might get Chelsea back into the game were soon dashed as Spurs made the most of their two-goal advantage and smothered midfield, meaning the Brazil international had few chances to run with the ball.

MF Cesc Fabregas, NR — Entered the fray too late to become influential.

FW Michy Batshuayi, NR — Replaced Moses in the 85th minute.