Ange Postecoglou made a triple substitution during the second half against Chelsea, aiming to build on an enhanced performance by his Tottenham team after halftime.
However, the move ultimately failed. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Rodrigo Bentancur, and James Maddison were introduced after 64 minutes with Spurs behind by a goal, while Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr, and Richarlison were taken off.
However, the Tottenham manager soon found himself dismayed as Nicolas Jackson extended the hosts’ lead eight minutes later, following the unsuccessful impact of the new substitutes. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, in particular, was criticized by Gary Neville during the live Sky Sports match coverage for his ineffective contribution. Neville remarked (May 2, 8:55 pm), “Hojbjerg’s first three touches have been awful.”
Hojbjerg’s performance during his half-hour appearance was below par, as indicated by SofaScore statistics. He lost possession five times, committed a foul, and failed to win either of his ground or aerial duels (0%).
His passing improved slightly, as he managed to deliver one key pass out of 30 attempts, completing 26 of them (87%). However, his initial struggle to adapt to the game’s pace contributed to Tottenham losing any momentum they had gained after a disappointing first half, which ultimately summed up a generally poor team performance that all but extinguished their Champions League aspirations.
The opening 45 minutes at Stamford Bridge were rather bleak from Tottenham’s perspective. Apart from Cristian Romero’s narrowly missed header and a potential penalty appeal for Emerson Royal, the visitors were arguably fortunate not to trail by more than one goal at halftime.
