Chelsea vs Tottenham player ratings: Saul and Hakim Ziyech impress as Blues earn first-leg lead

Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham: Tuchel’s side halfway to Wembley after a strike from Havertz and a Davies own goal

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Chelsea have a two-goal lead at the halfway point in the Carabao Cup semi-final after Tottenham’s first-half defensive deficiencies proved telling.

Kai Havertz scored the opener just minutes in after a poor pass out of the back line was intercepted, with the second a comedy of errors with Japhet Tanganga heading an attempted clearance straight into Ben Davies, who was credited with the own goal.

Spurs improved after the restart but Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech had the best chances to further add gloss to the scoreline.

The second leg takes place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next week.

Here are the player ratings from the match at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea

Kepa Arrizabalaga, 6. Didn’t have a huge amount to do but his distribution wasn’t the best. Saved one late effort.

Cesar Azpilicueta, 7. Reprised his old role on the right and was as solid as expected. Good covering when needed.

Antonio Rudiger, 7. Bullied Kane in the first half on the rare occasion the ball went his way. Routine night for the in-form German.

Malang Sarr, 7. Made a couple of good recovery tackles and played out from the back well. A good showing on a rare opportunity in a meaningful game.

Marcos Alonso, 6. Not his best night. An outlet in the first half at times but didn’t get particularly high up the pitch given the shape change and rarely put in dangerous crosses.

Hakim Ziyech, 8. More of an attacking midfielder than a right-wing back in the end, but diligent about getting into defensive positions and still able to cut infield and shoot in attack from a more advanced role on-the-ball. Spurned a good chance in the second half but played some great crosses and a fantastic through-ball for Werner.

Saul Niguez, 8. A much more positive outing, showing his ball-winning ability in deep areas and passing about with confidence. Broke forward to good effect at times and received plenty of encouragement from Tuchel when subbed off in the second half.

Jorginho, 7. A bit of a stroll for the Italian. Decent in possession as usual but sat deep and protected against the counter-threat for most of the game.

Mason Mount, 6. Mostly from the left, mostly hard-working but ineffective. Did the required job on and off the ball without shining.

Romelu Lukaku, 6. Was apparently still busy apologising to his team-mates one minute in, as he passed instead of shooting with a great chance. One header wide before the break but not much else of a goal threat.

Kai Havertz, 6. Decent run and somewhat scuffed finish for the opener, then missed a great chance just a few minutes later. Went off at half-time, possibly injured after hurting his hand in scoring early on.

Subs: Timo Werner 7, Mateo Kovacic 7, Ruben Loftus-Cheek 6, Christian Pulisic n/a, Harvey Vale n/a

(Getty Images)

Tottenham

Hugo Lloris, 6. Could do absolutely nothing about either goal and took a knee to the head for his troubles. A few routine saves after the break.

Japhet Tanganga, 6. Did well a few times on the cover but also made several sloppy on-the-ball calls, passing out to Chelsea shirts and - most crucially - sending an attempted headed clearance straight into a team-mate and into the net.

Davinson Sanchez, 7. Kept Romelu Lukaku quiet for the most part, showing good speed and strength when required and good positional play the rest of the time. Not the most adept showing on the ball but had switched from right of the three to central for this game.

Ben Davies, 5. Nothing he could do about his own goal, but also couldn’t do much to stop the repeated impact of Ziyech. Went left-back in the second half to little effect.

Emerson Royal, 5. Not a useful outlet for Tottenham and didn’t get high enough up the park to have a sustained impact.

Oliver Skipp, 4. Overrun and rarely able to stem the Chelsea tide or set his own team on the front foot.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, 5. Similarly incapable of putting Spurs in control of possession, though did at least play more of a positive role defensively.

Matt Doherty, 5. Ineffective as an outlet in the first half and subbed at the break.

Lucas Moura, 5. Once or twice threatened to race away and break open Chelsea’s defensive lines but ultimately had very little impact.

Heung-min Son, 4. As poor and ineffective a game as he has had in a Spurs shirt. Little service, no overlapping runs to feed off and no chances for himself in the penalty box.

Harry Kane, 5. Hit a free-kick on target but that was it for goal threat. Dropped deep to play in some good passes toward Son, but little else.

Subs: Tanguy Ndombele 7, Harry Winks 5, Bryan Gil n/a, Giovani Lo Celso n/a