Spurs Swept Aside by Chelsea to Dent Dreams of Wembley Final

Wednesday 5th January 2022

Match Report

Chelsea 2 – 0 Tottenham Hotspur

Venue: Stamford Bridge, London

Competition: EFL Carabao Cup Semi-Final (first leg)

"Pre-Match Thoughts – Spurs may be forced into changes due to COVID again. We wait to find out the sort of sides fielded by both managers. Our record at Stamford Bridge is pretty woeful, but we have Conte at the helm now, a man who knows Chelsea very well having managed them as recently as 2018. Ideally we get a result that sets us in good stead for the home leg next week. I think it'll be 1-1."

Conte selected a strong team with just two changes from the win against Watford – Tanganga came in for Dier, and Doherty replaced Reguilón at left wing-back which could be interesting as he's a naturally right-sided player. Chelsea opted for more squad rotation as they made six changes from their draw with Liverpool last time out. The most notable new starter was outspoken striker Romelu Lukaku.

5' Not a good start for young Tanganga, as he played it out right to Royal but the pass lacked conviction and Alonso nipped in to beat him to it and burst forward before sliding Havertz in behind Tanganga, who slotted past Lloris from close range, Sánchez got a foot to it but could only divert it into the net. 1-0.

It seemed like Chelsea were playing with an extra man in the opening half an hour, such was their dominance, passing around and creating chances against a Spurs side who had failed to get going at all.

34' The second arrived in calamitous fashion as a free-kick was swung in from the right side and Tanganga went to head the ball clear but headed it straight into the running back Ben Davies, it smashed off his shoulder and flew into the back of his own net to make it 2-0.

40' A ball lofted into the box and Lukaku beat Sánchez to a header that was a fraction wide of finding the bottom corner.

"Thoughts at Half-Time – Poor performance from Spurs so far, we've been completely played off the park and unless there's a drastic improvement in the second half then Chelsea will score more and make the home leg next week barely worth playing. Let's hope Conte sorts them out in the dressing room."

A positive change at the break as silky midfielder Ndombele came on for Doherty who'd been struggling on the left side, and Spurs switched to a 4-3-3.

50' Ndombele was involved straight away and he managed to win a free-kick right on the edge of the area. Kane stepped up and tested Arrizabalaga, but he saved well down to his right.

Spurs were certainly playing with more purpose since the break, and Ndombele running at them from midfield was driving on the improvement. Just needed to find a goal back during the positive spell.

62' Timo Werner, another half-time substitute, looked to get involved and was inches away from scoring as he cut in from the left and curled one for the far corner, thankfully it was just wide.

66' Werner found himself through on goal thanks to an exquisite Ziyech glided pass through the centre, Lloris raced out to meet him as he bought the ball under control, he attempted to lift it over Lloris but our skipper stood tall and clawed the ball down from above his head. Good goalkeeping.

87' Excellent run from Gil as he twisted his way past Pulisic, wriggled his way into the box and pulled it back to Lo Celso who struck first time and forced a decent save from Arrizabalaga. Ndombele tried to force home the rebound but was crowded out in the six-yard box.

"Thoughts at Full-Time – A dreary night at Stamford Bridge for Spurs and now we have a two goal deficit to try and overturn in the return leg at home next week. Chelsea looked the stronger side throughout really, I think it highlights how we could really benefit with a couple of big name signings who can come into big games like this and stamp their authority on it. We looked second best in too many areas of the pitch tonight and paid the price."

Tottenham Player Ratings

• 1. Hugo Lloris – 6.5 – Frustrated at the defensive showing in front of him. Good save to deny Werner one-on-one.

• 25. Japhet Tanganga – 3 – A good few shaky moments from him. Not the best pass to give it away for first goal, then got at in behind. Clumsy header against Davies for the second. Ran it out the back and lost it. Needs to improve.

• 6. Davinson Sánchez – 6 – Maybe could have done better to keep the first goal out. Solid in moments but still shaky in others.

• 33. Ben Davies – 5 – Not his best performance. Unlucky to be in the way of Tanganga's headed clearance that led to an own goal. Dived into a couple of challenges and gave the ball away quite a lot.

• 12. Emerson Royal – 4.5 – Didn't offer much down that right side again. Beaten to it by Alonso for the opener. Sloppy in possession.

• 29. Oliver Skipp – 6 – As ever, he tried. Somewhat overpowered in there today though and couldn't create much going forward. Looked disappointed to come off for Winks.

• 5. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg – 5 – Grafted to try and get a foothold in the game. Tired in the second half and let it get away from him in the centre of the park a couple of times.

• 2. Matt Doherty – 4 – Didn't look comfortable on the left, he's too right-footed for it. Subbed at half-time.

• 27. Lucas Moura – 5 – Made a few lively runs but often gave it away at the end of them. His passing was off on the whole.

• 7. Son Heung-min – 5 – Battled to create something up top, but constantly blocked by solid Chelsea defending.

• 10. Harry Kane – 5 – Didn't get many shots away and gave the ball away on more than one occasion.

Substitutions:

• 2. Matt Doherty ⬅ 45' ➡ 28. Tanguy Ndombele – 6 – Immediately involved and made a difference by picking up the ball in midfield and making things happen. Still not quite enough to find us a goal.

• 29. Oliver Skipp ⬅ 73' ➡ 8. Harry Winks – 5 – Quiet.

• 27. Lucas Moura ⬅ 80' ➡ 11. Bryan Gil – 6 – Positive wriggling run down the left and did well to find Lo Celso at the end of it.

• 7. Son Heung-min ⬅ 80' ➡ 18. Giovani Lo Celso – 5.5 – Whipped in a decent free-kick onto the head of Tanganga. Would have liked to have seen him put Gil's lay-off away.

Man of the Match – One of their players.