Player ratings: Chelsea lose to Middlesbrough in the first leg of the Carabao Cup – the WORST performance under Pochettino

Chelsea’s worst performance of the season, and one of the worst in years, sees us lose our semi-final first leg of the Carabao Cup.

A lack of creativity, defensively suspect, and nothing inspiring to note.

Where do we go from here?

Djordje Petrovic – 5

Nothing really of note on Petrovic tonight, so a five it is.

Malo Gusto – 4

Really poor defensively, caught out of position multiple times in the first half and despite a heavy on the ball involvement with 112 touches, he completed just one from eight crosses. Poor.

Axel Disasi – 4

Not his best night, and maybe a four is slightly harsh but defensively as a whole tonight we were a mess. We looked vulnerable every time Middlesborough came forward and couldn’t effectively deal with what they threw at us.

Thiago Silva – 3

Too slow on the ball and heavily guilty for the goal we conceded due to not even being bothered to track back. Nothing else to add.

Levi Colwill – 3

Horrendous, and for me possibly his worst game in a Chelsea shirt. It all started with a dodgy defensive header inside the first minute, followed by constant vulnerability down his flank, enhanced when he was booked for a silly foul.

Moises Caicedo – 7

Our player of the match tonight without a doubt, and quite simply a mile better than anything anyone else produced. It’s still annoying to say, but the sooner we have a competent manager who can set up a functioning midfield, he’ll thrive further.

Enzo Fernandez – 5

Yet another game where we see Enzo a victim of a horrific midfield setup. 

Conor Gallagher – 4

Useless is a harsh word but it might even be generous to describe Gallagher as that tonight. I was completely bewildered that he even stayed on the pitch for 90 minutes.

Raheem Sterling – 3

Non-existent? You could say that. Much like Gallagher, I really struggle to understand how Sterling played a full 90 tonight when he was as ineffective as he was. 

Cole Palmer – 4

Multiple huge chances missed that could’ve changed the course of the game/tie – but I’m outright not holding complete blame on him for what happened today. He’ll have good days, he’ll have bad ones.

Noni Madueke – 6

Probably one of our better players tonight, and he wasn’t exactly great himself – I have no real way to explain that idea though. It took Noni a good 25 minutes to get into the game to a degree, but when he did, he was bright, direct, and positive – unlike just about everyone else. 

Mauricio Pochettino – 2

Utterly clueless and tactically incompetent. I’ve tried for so long to hold my tongue and keep my frustrations at bay but Pochettino completely lost me tonight. He can’t set up a functioning midfield, we are near on unable to build play from the back and I still see zero attacking patterns and combinations. It just has to be a matter of time until he goes.

Mykhailo Mudryk – 4

Made no change or difference to the game tonight, with a few poor crosses and not much else.

Armando Broja – 4

I can’t really remember Broja touching the ball tonight – that’s the lack of creativity we were working with. Harsh to give a four, but can’t justify more.

Alfie Gilchrist – N/A

Twitter – @Chelsh31