Here are our ratings for a Tottenham Hotspur squad that was never in the game against a far superior Chelsea side, as Spurs bow out of the Carabao Cup.
In theory, before the game started Tottenham Hotspur had a chance to come back on Chelsea. The reality, once the game began, was that Spurs were lightyears behind the Blue as Tottenham was never in the game, as a shorthanded Spurs team limped to defeat.
Absent a couple of moments VAR prompting took away, Tottenham did little to trouble Chelsea who strolled to the semi-finals. Here are our ratings from Spurs’ shambolic performance against the Blues.
Tottenham forward ratings
Antonio Conte stuck with a three-forward formation, sort of. It was obvious that both Lucas Moura and Harry Kane were playing forward, not as obvious was the position of Giovani Lo Celso who spent most of the evening waffling between the right forward and come kind of advanced midfielder.
Lucas Moura – 6
One of the few players to really bring it on the day Lucas Moura ran hard and looked to attack with the dribble often. Unfortunately, that final pass was lacking as was that crucial touch ahead of a tackle in the box from Kepa Azzarabilaga, which led to an overturned penalty kick.
Harry Kane – 5.5
In a parallel universe without VAR, Harry Kane scored a hat-trick and led Spurs to an amazing comeback. In actuality, Kane never got to take even one penalty – two were called back – and his one goal scored was called back due to offsides. Kane clearly wanted it but never had a real chance today.
Giovani Lo Celso – 5
Playing as the third forward Giovani Lo Celso was able to get the ball in some dangerous positions and picked up several free-kick opportunities, particularly before the Chelsea goal. Clearly tired early in the second half and his movement was limited. Likes to try and roll players in but needs to read the situation better.
Tottenham midfield ratings
Spurs went with the four-man midfield with the big change from the first-leg being the introduction of Harry Winks for Oliver Skipp. Unfortunately for Tottenham, the results were not much different.
Matt Doherty – 4
Playing again out of position at left wing-back, Matt Doherty played. Either unwilling or simply unable to hit a cross with his left foot meant Doherty time and again cut back into the defence limiting any service from the Irishman. Was on the pitch and ran around but with only 22 touches in 64 minutes Doherty watched more than played.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – 5
Pierre Hojbjerg almost provided that moment when Spurs were back in the match. Hojbjerg ran around Kane on the overlap and was taken down seemingly in the box by Antonio Rudiger. However, after VAR review, the foul was deemed to have occurred outside the box the subsequent free-kick brought little. A volume passer, Hojbjerg just does not move the ball forward enough.
Harry Winks – 5
Another very willing player on the day, Harry Winks has seen better days. Winks tried multiple times to push the ball into tight spaces forward but lacked the needed quality on his passes. His miss of an open Kane on a simple through ball at 53 minutes really summed up his day of missed opportunities.
Emerson Royal – 5
Playing more defence than he has in previous matches for Tottenham, Emerson Royal ran up and down the pitch. Emerson did well in one-on-one positions as a defender but did not have the same kind of success on the attacking end where his service is still lacking. Unlike Doherty, Emerson is willing to make a cross but the quality is what is still lacking.
Rating Spurs defence
With Eric Dier again out and Cristian Romero still not back from his November hamstring injury Spurs again went with Japhet Tanganga and Davinson Sanchez in the back three with Ben Davies.
Ben Davies – 6
Again on at left-back, Ben Davies had his usual game on the left. Davies overlapped well on a couple of occasions and had one good cross Emerson put on target but overall had little impact.
Davinson Sanchez – 6
Spent much of his evening chasing Romelu Lukaku around the pitch and did well most of the evening. Did have another questionable clearance header down and central versus out and wide but mostly solid.
Japhet Tanganga -6
Markedly better than he was in the first leg, Tanganga avoided the howlers that left Spurs so far behind, to begin with. Outside of holding his own one-on-one defensively against a strong Chelsea attack, not much to note for Tanganga.
Pierluigi Gollini – 6
A somewhat surprise starter at goalkeeper, Pierluigi Gollini never had a chance on the re-directed header Chelsea scored off a corner kick. Gollini did have a couple of saves and had some decent distribution but had little action overall with Chelsea managing only two shots on target.
Tottenham substitute and coach ratings
Ryan Sessegnon – 5
Coming on with about 25 minutes to play for Matt Doherty, Ryan Sessegnon at least put a left-sided player on the pitch at the left wing-back position. Sessegnon popped a couple of times but like everyone else, his final pass let him down.
Bryan Gil – N/A
On for Giovani Lo Celso for the last 20 minutes, Bryan Gil worked hard to try and find the ball but there was precious little of it available for him. His highlight may have been a decently hit corner kick.
Oliver Skipp – N/A
Oliver Skipp came on for Winks for the last 10 minutes of the match and helped see out the tie.
Coach Conte – 4
Tottenham seemed to have conceded this one before it began with so many players out injured and Matt Doherty again starting on the left. A very disappointing and dispirited match from his side. If Conte wants to show the gap so reinforcements can come, mission accomplished. For those hoping for more, well we keep hoping.