Paul Merson claims only three or four Spurs players would get into the Chelsea XI

Paul Merson has claimed that Tottenham’s struggles to cope with Chelsea at times on Sunday showed how far behind Antonio Conte’s side are from the best teams in the Premier League.

The game at Stamford Bridge was billed as the battle of the best of the rest behind Manchester City and Liverpool, and it certainly did not disappoint.

There was plenty of drama both on and off the pitch as Harry Kane’s stoppage-time header meant the points were shared between the sides.

Conte admitted after the game that Chelsea were the better side for the majority of the encounter but he praised the spirit his players showed, and suggested the result showed the improvement Spurs have made since they last played Chelsea (Football.London).

However, Merson believes Chelsea’s performance proved they are far superior to their London rivals, and insisted that only four Tottenham players at most would get into Thomas Tuchel’s starting eleven.

The former Arsenal midfielder wrote in his column for Sky Sports: “The draw covered over the cracks for Tottenham. People were saying what a fightback it was and how they didn’t give up, but the game showed they are a gillion miles away.

“No disrespect to Spurs but they have some top, top players, and then they have the other players in their squad. They don’t have an unbelievable starting XI.

“Aside from the centre-half Cristian Romero, who’s a good player, and the two up front, Harry Kane and Heung-min Son, and probably Dejan Kulusevski now, who else in their squad would get a game at another top Premier League club?

“Other than Kane and Son, who else would have got into the Chelsea team on Sunday? You’d take goalkeeper Edouard Mendy over Hugo Lloris.

“You wouldn’t take Spurs’ wing-backs over Chelsea’s, Romero would get into a back three alongside Thiago Silva and Kalidou Koulibaly.

“But there’s no way you’d pick Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur over N’Golo Kante, Jorginho or Mason Mount, and Chelsea aren’t even going to win the league!

“To all the people expecting Tottenham to do something this season, answer this: what are they going to do?

“If you said to the Spurs board they could win the FA Cup and League Cup this season but finish fifth in the Premier League, they would say absolutely no chance. It’s all about a top-four finish because this is where the game has fundamentally changed.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Pundits and fans often read too much into a single performance or result. By Merson’s logic, Man City’s performance and defeat to Nuno’s Spurs at the start of last season, should have been a sign of trouble ahead for Pep Guardiola’s men.

I also think he is wrong in his assessment as I believe you can make a case for six Spurs players (Kane, Son, Kulusevski, Bentancur, Romero and Lloris) getting into the Chelsea side.

It is also worth reiterating that the firepower Tottenham have upfront is far superior to what Tuchel has at his disposal, even if Chelsea sign another top-class number nine before the transfer window closes.

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