Tottenham player ratings vs Chelsea: Emerson Royal uncomfortable as tired Heung-min Son has little impact

Tottenham went down 2-0 to a depleted Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in a third defeat on the bounce as Mauricio Pochettino completed a double over his former club.

Spurs’ vulnerability at set-pieces was exposed again in the first half when Trevoh Chalobah ghosted into the box unmarked to head home Conor Gallagher’s free-kick.

Spurs rallied after the interval but Chelsea got a second when Nicolas Jackson headed into an empty net after Cole Palmer’s free-kick had come back off the bar.

Dan Kilpatrick was at Stamford Bridge to rate the Tottenham players...

Guglielmo Vicario 6

Well beaten by Chalobah’s looping header after Spurs’ left the defender unmarked, and powerless to prevent Jackson’s second.

Pedro Porro 5

Struggled to pin down Mykhailo Mydryk and his final poor was often wayward.

Cristian Romero 8

Went close to another goal in the first half and was Spurs’ best player with and without the ball.

Micky van de Ven 7

Made a series of covering challenges and brought the ball out of defence well.

Emerson Royal 4

Uncomfortable inverting into midfield and repeatedly beaten by Noni Madueke and Cole Palmer.

Yves Bissouma 5

Appeared to be the subject of Postecoglou’s wrath in the first half for not moving the ball forward enough. Some of his passing was eye-catching but still nowhere near his dynamic best.

Pape Sarr 5

Had one of Spurs’ only chances of note in the first half, a shot blocked by Chalobah. Energetic but passing was sloppy and a loose pass led to an early chance for Nicolas Jackson.

Dejan Kulusevski 4

Subdued on his big audition for the No.10 spot and gave away the free-kick leading to Chelsea’s second goal.

Brennan Johnson 4

Consistently failed to beat his man, be it Marc Cucurella or Alfie Gilchrist, and his final ball was mixed. Missed a huge chance to pull a goal back shortly at 2-0.

Heung-min Son 4

Struggled to make an impression from the left or when he moved to centre-forward. Looks tired and short of confidence.

Richarlison 4

Offered little goal threat on his first start since mid-February and was largely a passenger.

Substitutes

James Maddison (Sarr 63’) 5

Briefly added a spark to lifeless Spurs but their revival was quickly ended by Chelsea’s second goal.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Bissouma 63’) 6

Stuggled to adust to the pace of the game but created one of Spurs’ best chances with a back-post cross for Johnson.

Rodrigo Bentancur (Richarlison 63’) 7

Had two late sights of goal after some neat exchanges of passes.

Bryan Gil (Johnson 78’) 5

A surprising late introduction. Easily marshalled by Chelsea’s defence.

Giovani Lo Celso (Emerson 85’) 6

Actually added a bit of intent on the ball but didn’t have much time.

Not used: Austin, Skipp, Dragusin, Moore.