Tottenham's nightmare Premier League season continued on Thursday evening as they fell to a 1-0 defeat away at Chelsea. In Spurs' first game since losing 2-0 at Fulham, Ange Postecoglou made a total of five changes to his team as Micky van de Ven came in to partner Cristian Romero at the heart of defence.
Lucas Bergvall, James Maddison, Wilson Odobert and Son Heung-min also returned to the XI after starting on the bench at Fulham prior to the international break. Spurs almost found themselves 1-0 down inside the first minute as Van de Ven's clearance from close range struck Nicolas Jackson and hit the post.
Chelsea went close again on 18 minutes as Guglielmo Vicario was needed to stop the ball creeping over the line after Destiny Udogie had produced some fine defending to stop Enzo Fernandez finishing off Cole Palmer's cross. The visitors did get into some good positions as the first half wore on but the final action was missing to force Robert Sanchez into any real saves.
Vicario, on the other hand, was required to tip over Jadon Sancho's shot on the cusp of half-time with the winger looking certain to net. The Blues did go on to open the scoring five minutes after the restart as Fernandez was given all the space he wanted in the box to powerfully head home Palmer's cross.
Spurs got away with one not long after as Moises Caicedo netted with a stunning volley from outside the box but it was deemed offside following a VAR check. VAR then denied Spurs an equaliser as Pape Matar Sarr was adjudged to have fouled Caicedo prior to netting from distance.
The visitors did go close to an equaliser in the 90th minute but Sanchez saved low down to stop Son's effort on the stretch creeping in. Here's how we rated the Tottenham players in the game at Stamford Bridge:
Guglielmo Vicario
Saved well on his own line just as Udogie looked set to turn Palmer's cross into his own net and produced an even better save just prior to half-time to tip Sancho's effort over. Couldn't really do anything about Fernandez's header nor Caicedo's disallowed strike but got a good hand to a late Palmer effort. 6
Djed Spence
Up against Jadon Sancho and made life difficult for the winger at times. Very few opportunities to get forward and make an impact. 6
Cristian Romero
Troubled by Jackson on a couple of occasions as the Chelsea striker got the better of him in good areas. Was involved in the melee just before half-time and received a booking for his part in the incident. Better after the break but not at his usual level. 5
Micky van de Ven
Named alongside Romero in defence for the first time in the Premier League since December and was involved instantly as his clearance from close range struck Jackson and came off the post. Produced some well-timed tackles on a number of occasions but was drawn across to Romero and Jackson for Chelsea's opening goal as Fernandez nipped in to score with his head. It proved to be a costly error. 5
Destiny Udogie
Produced some great defending a couple of yards from goal to stop Fernandez converting Palmer's cross on 18 minutes. However, the full-back saw the Argentina international run into the box for his goal but didn't move across to cover him. Wanted a penalty for a Trevoh Chalobah handball in the second half but it wasn't given. 5
Rodrigo Bentancur
Made a couple of good breaks upfield and was one of Tottenham's better performers on the day. 6
Lucas Bergvall
Returned to the starting XI after dropping down to the bench at Fulham and Spurs were better for having him in the middle of the park. Looked to get the team moving forward and made some important tackles. Replaced just after the hour mark and his exit was met by jeers from the Spurs fans as they clearly wanted him to remain on. 6
James Maddison
Spurs needed his creativity but he saw very little of the ball to make things happen at Stamford Bridge in the first half. Was more involved towards the end of the game but nothing came off for him. 5
Wilson Odobert
Given the nod on the right flank but got very little joy down his side of the pitch. Made way as part of the double substitution after the hour mark. 5
Dominic Solanke
Worked as hard as ever but no chances on goal over the course of the game with Spurs not doing enough to get him involved in dangerous areas. 6
Son Heung-min
Barely had an impact on proceedings but got more involved towards the end of the first half and forced Sanchez to get a hand to his wicked low cross. Was to be denied by the goalkeeper in the final minute after connecting with Brennan Johnson's cross at the back post. 5
Substitutes
Brennan Johnson (Wilson Odobert, 64)
Took Odobert's place on the right wing and almost got a late assist with a lovely cross that Son nearly converted. 5
Pape Matar Sarr (Lucas Bergvall, 64)
Netted with a long distance strike but his goal was ruled out following a VAR check for a foul on Caicedo. 6
Mathys Tel (James Maddison, 88)
Came on for the final few minutes. N/A
Pedro Porro (Micky van de Ven, 88)
Given a matter of minutes at the end of the game. N/A
Spurs' selection choices vs Chelsea, key player fitness & the loan latest - click here to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham