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Tottenham player ratings v Chelsea: Three Spurs put in abysmal performances

By Rucker Haringey

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 20: Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur shows appreciation to the fans after the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on August 20, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 20: Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur shows appreciation to the fans after the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on August 20, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 20: Mousa Dembele of Tottenham Hotspur and Michy Batshuayi of Chelsea battle for possession during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on August 20, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 20: Mousa Dembele of Tottenham Hotspur and Michy Batshuayi of Chelsea battle for possession during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on August 20, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images) /

Mousa Dembele-8

If not for Dembele’s excellent performance in the middle of the park, things could have turned ugly in this matchup. It’s easy to expect such excellence from the Belgian midfielder, but he deserves special plaudits for his play against the Blues.

If you didn’t see the match, it was a vintage performance from Dembele. He knocked countless Chelsea players off the ball and carried the ball forward with amazing strength and balance. It wasn’t a perfect match for Dembele, but it was well above average. His play deserved three points.

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Victor Wanyama-4

Regular readers know that I’m a massive fan of the Kenyan destroyer. Fortunately for he and the squad, he doesn’t play like he did against Chelsea every week.

It was the worst performance I’ve ever seen from Wanyama. He looked a step slow all afternoon and looked as if he were playing for Chelsea at times. His horrific giveaway led to Alonso’s second goal and ultimately cost his team the chance to earn a result. Wanyama will have to up his game next week if he plans to see the pitch again.

Eric Dier-5

You might have hoped to see Dier step up when Wanyama was struggling so much. Unfortunately, he put in another below average performance for Pochettino. He was physical in the middle of the pitch, but he didn’t actually contribute anything constructive for his squad.

For all the talk of defensive midfield being his best position, it’s been quite a while since he put in an above-average shift in the middle of the pitch. I acknowledge that it’s difficult to toggle positions as he has, but the acquisition of Davinson Sanchez should allow him to focus on the midfield full-time. If that happens, he’ll need to play much better than he did yesterday.

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