Chelsea made a huge statement in the Premier League title race as Cole Palmer inspired them to a 4-3 win at Tottenham on Sunday.
In an epic battle between the London rivals, Spurs went 2-0 up inside 11 minutes as Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski benefited from not one but two slips by Marc Cucurella.
However, Jadon Sancho hit back just six minutes later to keep Chelsea in the game and in the second half, he soared.
Palmer drew Chelsea equalized just after the hour from the penalty spot as Enzo Fernandez curled in an excellent left-footed volley to give the visitors the lead.
And it was Palmer who finished the job in the 84th minute, leaving Fraser Forster red-faced with a Panenka penalty, ensuring Son Heung-min’s late strike was little more than a consolation.
Chelsea now sit just four points behind Liverpool in the title race.
Read on for full player ratings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Player Ratings Tottenham vs Chelsea: Cole Palmer torments Spurs
Tottenham player ratings
Fraser Forster – 7/10 – Spurs would have been out of the game pretty quickly without a couple of very smart saves from their substitute goalkeeper.
Pedro Porro – 6/10 – Set up Kulusevski’s goal after Cucurella’s second rejection. He did a great job defensively, making seven recoveries, five sacks and a tackle, while winning 5/6 of his combined ground and aerial duels. However, he was too slow to get to Fernandez for Chelsea’s winner.
Cristian Romero – 6/10 – He barely had a chance to get going before going off injured again.
Micky van de Ven – 5/10 – None had a good chance deflected in the second half. It was fine, but at times it seemed leggy. He would have benefited from an early retirement, but that wasn’t possible once Romero went off and caused another hamstring strain.
Destiny Udogie – 4/10 – He didn’t influence the game as much as Porro and Palmer won too easily in the build-up to Chelsea’s third.
Yves Bissouma – 3/10 – What was he thinking with that lunge on Caicedo? From that moment on, nothing but a Chelsea win could be seen in this match.
Pope Sarr – 3/10 – He rattled the crossbar with a header in the first half. Like Bissouma, he came in for a ridiculous challenge from behind on Palmer.
Dejan Kulusevski – 6/10 – He took his goal brilliantly but was uncharacteristically quiet otherwise. Kulusevski completed just nine passes and missed his mark with all three of his cross attempts.
Brennan Johnson – 6/10 – He reacted brilliantly to Cucurella’s slide to score the first goal, but like Kulusevski, he was almost a passenger until he went off injured.
Dominic Solanke – 7/10 – He took his goal well and created a couple of openings but found himself too isolated.
Son Heung-min – 6/10 – He looked completely bereft of confidence in front of goals, missing another couple of big chances, but finally got on the scoresheet in the end. Still, he needs to step up his game quickly to prevent the Spurs from fading into obscurity this season.
Substitutes:
Radu Dragusin (15′, by Romero) – 6/10 – He’s not to blame for the goals and has made a few big blocks to keep things from getting worse.
Timo Werner (53′, for Johnson) – 3/10 – Was he on the pitch for? this long?
James Maddison (79′, for Kulusevski) – 6/10 – Not given enough time to start.
Archie Gray (79′, by Van de Ven) – 6/10 – It was good given the situation he found himself in.
Lucas Bergvall (79′, for Bissouma) – 6/10 – As above.
Chelsea player ratings
Robert Sánchez – 4/10 – He hasn’t been covered in goalscoring glory thanks to awful positioning and his kicking has gone wide at times.
Moises Caicedo – 8/10 – He improved dramatically when moved into midfield, pushed Spurs back and helped Chelsea dictate.
Benoit Badiashile – 6/10 – He looked very uncomfortable playing on the right of the centrals, but he improved when he switched to the left.
Levi Colwill – 6/10 – He missed a good chance early on and missed Solanke for Spurs’ first goal, but improved after that to make some important tackles.
Marc Cucurella – 5/10 – Can we rate your boots? If so, they would get a 1/10! In all seriousness, fair play to Cucurella for what was an excellent performance after slipping twice to help the Spurs take a 2-0 lead.
Romeo Lavia – 7/10 – He completed 28 passes in the first half and was showing some real moments of class before being tapped to bring on Malo Gusto, a natural right-back.
Enzo Fernandez – 8/10 – He controlled the pace through the middle and took his goal brilliantly with his left foot.
Pedro Neto – 7/10 – He seemed on the edge of brilliance, but stood out more for his relentless work rate.
Cole Palmer – 9/10 – He took his penalties wonderfully, making a fool of Forster in the second. He was also devastating in open play, completing four dribbles and creating four chances.
Jadon Sancho – 8/10 – He scored an excellent goal to bring Chelsea back into the game and had Porro at his back throughout the game.
Nicolas Jackson – 4/10 – He provided a decent physical outlet but was way off the mark on the ball. He missed the target with all three of his shots, failed to complete any of his five dribbles and was unsuccessful with his only cross attempt.
Substitutes:
Dolent Gust (46′, by Lavia) – 8/10 – He caused havoc in the final third and helped Chelsea immensely with the balance he provided.
Christopher Nkunku (76′, by Jackson) – 5/10 – He did not enter the game.
Noni Madueke (86′, by Neto) – 5/10 – Not given enough time to impact the game.
Renato Veiga (90′, for Cucurella) – N/A – Brought to the end.
Joao Felix (90′, for Palmer) – N/A – As above.
