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Chelsea player ratings vs Tottenham: 4/10 suffers ultimate disaster and Palmer loses head

CHELSEA 0-2 TOTTENHAM: A late own goal and Mathys Tel's solo effort saw Spurs claim a rare victory away to their fierce rivals.

Chelsea FC v Tottenham Hotspur - Premier League 2026/27
Cole Palmer was sent off in Chelsea's defeat to Tottenham. (Image: Getty)

Chelsea's day went from bad to worse in a disastrous 2-0 defeat to Tottenham, after Cole Palmer lost his head in two moments of madness either side of an own goal from Mike Penders and a strike from range by Mathys Tel.

Spurs dominated the first half, despite Chelsea enjoying the opening few minutes and producing some dangerous attacks, but Roberto De Zerbi's midfield trio got the better of Moises Caicedo and Jordan Henderson to enjoy plenty of freedom. Though they were unable to break the deadlock, having gone closest when Omar Marmoush fired straight at Mike Penders from inside the box.

Chelsea had just 30 per cent possession in the first half, but Xabi Alonso opted against bringing on a recognised centre-forward in Danny Welbeck, as Morgan Rogers unconvincingly led the line in the absence of Joao Pedro.

But a match devoid of quality was ultimately decided by a spectacular own goal by Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders, before Cole Palmer got into a series of sour incidents and found himself sent off.

Tel put the finishing touches on the result with an incredible solo run before slotting the ball past Penders from range.

Here, Express Sport rates how the Chelsea players fared against Tottenham…

Goalkeeper

Making your full Premier League debut in the worst weather conditions possible would not have been in Mike Penders’ thinking when he dreamed of this day. Neither was the calamity of punching the ball into your own net. A disastrous moment for the 21-year-old you will hope he can recover from.

Defence

Josh Acheampong - 4

Mathys Tel generally got the better of the young Englishman, who did so once again late on as he added Spurs' second.

Maxence Lacroix - 4

Struggled to exert himself in a scrappy match and made a feeble attempt to stop Tel before the young Frenchman rifled an effort into the bottom corner.

Levi Colwill - 5

Perhaps got away with a knee in the back of Marmoush that went unpunished. The leader at the back saw his defence all at sea at times.

Midfield

Worked hard but Spurs consistently got behind him and down that flank. Had two of Chelsea's biggest chances but could not convert either to repeat his brace against Everton last time out.

Moises Caicedo - 6

Too often outmanoeuvred in midfield by the excellent Tottenham trio.

Chelsea FC v Tottenham Hotspur - Premier League 2026/27
Geovany Quenda on his full debut for Chelsea. (Image: Getty)

Jordan Henderson - 6

Had a chance to score in the first half when teed up on the edge of the box, but his effort was too close to Kinsky. Struggled to get to grips with Spurs throughout.

Jorrel Hato - 5

Rarely involved. No surprise that he was the first player Xabi Alonso decided to withdraw.

Attack

Cole Palmer - 3

Chelsea’s driving force up until he completely lost his head in the late stages. Extremely lucky not to get sent off for kickstarting a melee by clashing with Mateus Fernandes, but was then given his marching orders when stamping on Sandro Tonali. One to forget and he let his team-mates down today.

Morgan Rogers - 5

Had a few efforts but struggled to lead the line as a centre-forward. Kicked out late on and Gary Neville thought he deserved a red card.

Geovany Quenda - 5

After being handed a surprise full league debut in place of the injured Joao Pedro, but struggled to get into the game at all and failed to combine with Palmer and Rogers.

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