A jam-packed afternoon at Stamford Bridge saw a depleted Chelsea do enough to see off Roberto De Zerbi’s men despite their (and VAR’s) best efforts in the second half.
Who performed? Who struggled? Who was the hero of the day for Maurico Pochettino’s dark arts blues? It is time for the player ratings.
Robert Sanchez – 8
He didn’t have a lot to do in the first half, but was instrumental in stopping the seagull’s assault late in the second half, including a big save in injury time.
A small lapse in concentration at the half-hour mark was his only mistake today as his passing was great even under pressure. Both of Brighton’s goals were well placed beyond his reach by Buonanotte and Joao Pedro. Overall, a solid showing.
Axel Disasi – 4
Playing out of position all game against Adingra and Mitoma was not an easy feat for Disasi. He is clearly not a right back and after the red card was left isolated often on the right-hand side, especially in the second half where Mitoma was running him ragged.
He looked far more assured when Chelsea changed to a back 5 in the second half. We can’t be too harsh, as Disasi was playing there out of necessity, but it is much like Chilwell at left-wing in that we all hope to never see it again.
Thiago Silva – 8
Imperious performance again from O Monstro. The veteran centre-back was calm and distributed the ball well in the defensive third. In the second half was where Silva really shone, making several important blocks and tackles as well as organising the defence.
Benoit Badiashile – 9
Excellent performance today. Big Ben didn’t have a lot to do in the second half but was brilliant in the first and provided an acrobatic assist. Stepped out well consistently to stop Brighton’s attacks and made one of the most promising attackers in the Premier League in Evan Ferguson look average.
We’re all happy big Ben is back.
Levi Colwill – 7
A controversial game from Colwill today. Levi did very well to convert his header, you can’t ask for more than a goal from a defender.
His defending was decent most of the time, but despite being isolated for the first goal he must do more to close down Buonanotte before he shoots. Didn’t offer that much going forward, but held the width and did his job.
Solid overall, just remember to celebrate Levi, you are Chels after all.
Moises Caicedo – 8
Caicedo should be pleased with his performance today against his old club. He was instrumental in buildup, played well under pressure and did his job in the middle of breaking up the play very well.
In the second half he needed to cover more ground due to Gallagher’s red card, but was assured and impressed overall.
Enzo Fernandez – 9
A brace for the Argentinian today. His first, a great opportunistic header from Badiashile’s pass. The second a penalty drawn by Mykhaylo Mudryk which was dispatched well past Steele.
Enzo’s playmaking was also solid today, despite one very scary moment under pressure, with his trademark long balls to the attackers causing issues for Brighton all afternoon.
He faded a little more as the game went on (which isn’t a surprise given Chelsea were a man down) but he won us the game today and you can’t ask for more. Man of the match.
Raheem Sterling – 5
Sterling didn’t do enough for me today. While he had a few good moments going forward he never looked like a threat.
When down to 10, he was poor going forward and tracking back, leaving Disasi isolated one-on-one with Mitoma and Adingra for much of the second half.
Not surprised when he was taken off, but he had the discipline to avoid a yellow card today to be eligible against Man United mid-week, where we all will be expecting more.
Conor Gallagher – 2
A day to forget for Conor Gallagher. The Englishman was having an average attacking game by all accounts, however defensively he was all over the place.
He gave the ball away several times today and both of his yellow cards were poor decisions, especially the second.
In much the same way as Reece James versus Newcastle, you cannot have such poor discipline when you’re the captain and he let his team down today. He will be kicking himself and rightly so.
Mkykhailo Mudryk – 6
Glimpses. That is what we continue to see from Mudryk, promising glimpses. Despite not doing a massive amount this afternoon and his off the ball play still needing much more work, the Ukranian looked dangerous in moments, including a very nice run in the first half ending in a shot just wide.
Mudryk also did very well to win the penalty that Enzo dispatched. Decent overall and a performance to build on.
Nicolas Jackson – 5
Got the assist for Colwill’s goal, but struggled other than that. Despite recent events, Jackson didn’t appear more motivated than usual. Was wasteful yet again and appears to be allergic to shooting, always electing to dribble first (winger’s instincts).
His positioning was poor, while his runs were okay in places and awful in others. Still worked hard and dropped deep. Difficult when he was already isolated somewhat before the red card, so was feeding off scraps afterwards, but was also wasteful befor and was overall mediocre today.
SUBS:
Cole Palmer – 7
Palmer came on in the second half and despite rumours of a knock, he still played well. Got Chelsea out of trouble defensively a few times and overall looked very assured despite a difficult environment to come on to.
Ian Maatsen – 6
Despite not playing much at all recently and his Chelsea future in serious doubt, Maatsen did alright when coming on.
We were far more assured as a unit with his introduction switching us to a back five, but Maatsen himself didn’t impact the game much outside of a handful of decent defensive actions.
Armando Broja – N/A – Bloody Nose out of ten.
On to United. Up the Chels.
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