[Player Ratings] Chelsea 4-0 Tottenham: Terry And Hazard Inspire Blues

Chelsea beat Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 on Saturday evening to move seven points clear at the top of the table. Here, Blues fan Joe Carroll gives us his player ratings for the game.

Chelsea raced into a seven point lead at the top of the Premier League after four second-half goals gave them victory over Tottenham Hotspur.

The scores were tied at the break but Chelsea took full advantage of a catalogue of errors from Spurs in the second half, first Jan Vertonghe’s  back-pass seized upon by Samuel Eto’o for the opening goal.

Spurs’ afternoon went from bad to worse on the hour when Younes Kaboul was dismissed for fouling Eto’o in the area and Eden Hazard converted coolly from the spot.

With Chelsea in the driving seat and a 2 goal cushion, Spurs’ way back into the game looked to have disappeared entirely and further errors from Tim Sherwood’s side ensued. Sandro stumbled when he failed to deal with Oscar’s cross and substitute Demba Ba pounced for his first league goal in over three months.

Ba completed the scoring when Hugo Lloris’ clearance was headed back to him by Kyle Naughton, seemingly unaware of the striker’s presence. The Senegalese beat Lloris to the ball and had an easy tap in for his second of the game.

The scoreline was perhaps a little flattering for Chelsea, as the game was evenly contested up until Kaboul’s sending off but the Blues made the best of the chances afforded to them. Despite going 7 points clear of second and third placed Liverpool and Arsenal, Jose Mourinho played down talk of  a fifth league title, saying: “We don’t have control of our destiny”.

Player Ratings

Cech- 7- was needed in the first half when Chelsea came under substantial pressure, but the Czech dealt with everything that was thrown at him.

Azpilicueta- 7- another good game from the Spaniard at left-back. Has made himself first-choice ahead of Ashley Cole with some terrific performances.

Terry- 8- as solid a defensive display as you will see. Read the game well and threw himself in front of everything. Man of the Match.

Cahill- 7- also very good at the heart of defence. His partnership with Terry gives the team a surety from which the team can build and rely on.

Ivanovic- 7- great full back play from the Serbian.

Matic- 7- worked hard to keep his defence screened and was tough in the tackle.

Lampard- 5- not his best performance and was taken off at half-time for Oscar. Disappointing, as this is one game you would expect the veteran to be up for.

Ramires- 6- worked hard but could have offered more in the attacking third.

Schurrle- 6- not quite the performance we saw at Fulham last week but still did okay. Brought off at 2-0.

Hazard- 8- a live-wire performance from the Belgian capped off with a casual (if not risky) penalty kick almost down the middle.

Eto’o- 7- took his goal really well after a slip from Vertonghen. Also gets extra points for his cheeky ‘old-man’ celebration (Chelsea are nicknamed the Pensioners for a reason!).

Subs

Oscar- 7- replaced Lampard at half-time and brought a bit more flair to Chelsea’s attacks.

Willian- 6- came on for Schurrle on 66 minutes and kept the ball well.

Ba- 8- in the right place at the right time for his two goals and looked a bit more like the striker who scored so freely for Newcastle.

How happy are you getting one over on Spurs?…Was the result more to do with how good Chelsea were or how poor Spurs were in the second half?…Did you think it was a penalty on Eto’o?…and did Kaboul deserve to be sent off?…Do you agree with Mourinho that they are still not favourites for the title?…please leave your comments below…