Tottenham vs. Chelsea: Player Ratings from Spurs' 5-1 FA Cup Loss

In all seriousness, who saw this coming?

Some certainly saw Chelsea winning the FA Cup semifinal at Wembley Stadium, but by a score of 5-1? Gareth Bale lost a little steam along the sideline, centre-backs Ledley King and William Gallas lost pace with Blues forwards and in the last 13 minutes, Chelsea scored three goals.

Spurs played well enough for most of the match to win it, but the simple truth is that they absolutely imploded those last 13 minutes. The end of the match was like a microcosm of Spurs' season—they played well in the beginning and then inexplicably fell apart towards the end.

The scoreline may say 5-1, but was Tottenham as dominated as the box score lets on? How did the individuals grade out? Check out my player ratings and let me know if you agree.

Goalkeeper

Carlo Cudicini: 4.0

Was handed the start over veteran Brad Friedel and will not see the pitch for the rest of the season—perhaps ever again in a Spurs uniform. He wasn't at fault for all five goals conceded against his former club, but his being caught out of position on the Frank Lampard howler showed why Redknapp rarely gives the Italian time between the posts.

Defenders

Benoit Assou-Ekotto: 5.5

Tried to keep up an energetic pace along the left sideline but just couldn't hold it for the entire match. Looked absolutely gassed in the final third of the match and offered Bale sub-par support. He's Tottenham's long-term fixture at the left-back position, but he sure didn't play like it today.

Ledley King: 5.0

Clumsy and awkward play all match. Caught out of position several times and at fault for the Ramires goal.

William Gallas: 4.0

The poorest of poor. Tottenham needs to dump him for whatever they can get for him. From the looks of his play against Chelsea, the centre-back might just be worth a couple of pints and a taxi fare to the airport.

Kyle Walker: 6.0

He was (sadly) the best of Spurs' defensive back line. Looked nervous, even though he's gone up against tougher competition than this before. What's caused England's newest international sensation to dip in quality as of late?

Midfielders

Luka Modric: 4.0

Was bullied, both physically and mentally, from the opening whistle. Out of position several times and other times, the best he could do was just run after the ball. No technical ability, few decent passes and very, very poor performance from the normally solid Croatian.

Scott Parker: 6.0

Strong performance from who I thought was Tottenham's best player on the pitch. Indicative of Tottenham's implosion when he displayed the same anger as when he received a red card in Tottenham's 5-2 loss to Arsenal. Played well but couldn't do enough to carry a lackluster Spurs midfield.

Aaron Lennon: 5.5

Average complement to Bale on the opposite side of the pitch, but he made poor decisions when he had the ball and was invisible most of the match.

Gareth Bale: 6.0

Along with Parker, Bale was Tottenham's only hope in the midfield. Great pace along the sideline early in the match that turned into tired sprints in the final 20 minutes. Looked gassed earlier than usual as his streaks along the sideline were fewer and farther between than usual. Scored in the second half, but that was less about his great play and more about Adebayor's hard work and a case of the Welshman being in the right place at the right time.

Rafael van der Vaart: 6.0

Great placement of the ball during set pieces and corner kicks, even if Tottenham couldn't succeed in converting any of them to scores. Great decision-making in the midfield, but very little contribution. Left in the 75th minute in favor of Jermain Defoe.

Forwards

Emmanuel Adebayor: 6.5

A threat for most of the match, but couldn't string anything together except for his run at goal in the second half with Bale. Should have scored in the first half with the several times Rafael van der Vaart fed him the ball. Inconsistent, but not without drive and passion, so that's saying something.

Jermain Defoe: 5.0

Came on in the 75th minute, but other than a couple of harmless sprints at goal without the ball, contributed nothing.