Chelsea all but secured 3rd place for the 2021/22 Premier League campaign, drawing 1-1 with Leicester at Stamford Bridge. Alonso scored a stunning volleyed equaliser for the Blues after Maddison had put the away side ahead early on. Christian Pulisic had the chance to win the game for Chelsea with an open goal, but he could not get his shot on target.
Player ratings:
Edouard Mendy- 5/10
The Senegalese keeper will be disappointed he couldn’t keep out Maddison’s long range shot that went in at Mendy’s near-post. It was a fantastic strike, but Chelsea’s #1 will feel he should’ve done better. Some shaky distribution in the match as well, never quite looking comfortable with the ball at his feet.
Trevoh Chalobah- 6/10
Chalobah got another chance in the starting 11, with Christensen again out of the squad for unknown reasons. The young centre back started the game promisingly, with a brilliant long range effort tipped over by Schmeichel. He could have done better, however, when Alonso’s cross found his head at close range, but Chalobah’s shot was straight at the Leicester keeper.
Thiago Silva- 7/10
Chelsea’s veteran defender displayed his passing ability today with great effect. The Brazilian sprayed long range balls all over the pitch which expertly found his teammates feet. A brilliant tackle to stop a late Leicester attack ensured Chelsea got a draw out of the game.
Antonio Rüdiger- 5/10
Some bizarre defending by Rüdiger today. He allowed Maddison far too much space to get his shot off for Leicester’s opening goal. The German was also fortunate not to see red for a ridiculous two footed challenge in the second half, which by the laws of the game was a certain sending off.
Reece James- 8/10
Another astonishing performance by Reece James, who now has 13 Premier League goal contributions this season. A perfectly chipped pass to Alonso set up Chelsea’s equalising goal, and a ball through to Lukaku should have resulted in a winner for the Blues. James also showed his defensive talents off, using his strength to shield the ball on multiple occasions.
Marcos Alonso- 7/10
Today was a perfect example of why Marcos Alonso elicits such a mixed and passionate reaction from Chelsea fans. He bizarrely moved away from the ball for Leicester’s first goal, letting Maddison have a free run towards the box under no pressure. The Spaniard then, however, equalised for Chelsea with a perfectly volleyed goal that any striker would have been proud of.
Jorginho- 6/10
Chelsea’s captain struggled to have much impact attacking for Chelsea today, with a lot of passes heading backwards or sideways throughout the game. He did put on a strong defensive performance, however, making the most tackles out of any Chelsea player on the pitch.
N’Golo Kante- 4/10
One of the worst performances for the Frenchman in Chelsea blue, who has been off the pace in the latter half of this season. Kante, who normally times his tackles to perfection, gave away four fouls in quick succession and picked up a yellow card for his troubles, highlighting his lack of form.
Christian Pulisic- 4/10
Pulisic will not want to look back at his performance today. A shocking miss from six yards out after Lukaku squared the ball to him, the American did not even come close with his shot. Pulisic did show some nice dribbling throughout the game, but his final product was severely lacking, wasting an early chance by dribbling away from goal when he was seemingly clean through.
Romelu Lukaku- 5/10
Another disappointing performance for Lukaku at the Bridge. The Belgian struggled to get himself in the game, with Leicester’s defensive pairing of Evans and Fofana not put under pressure. He missed a big headed chance when Ziyech picked him out in the box. He should’ve had an assist, however, squaring the ball to Pulisic who missed with goal at his mercy.
Hakim Ziyech- 7/10
A lively performance from the Moroccan, who has become a fringe player as of recently. Three successful dribbles, as well as 12 crosses, Ziyech looked the most likely of any Chelsea player to create something. Unfortunate not to have an assist after a perfect ball to Lukaku was headed wide.
Subs
César Azpilicueta- 6/10
Chelsea’s club captain has had some uncertainty this week over whether he will start next season at Chelsea or not. He came on as a late sub and didn’t have much of an impact. The highlight of his game was losing the ball to Barnes in a dangerous area, before doing well to win it back five seconds later.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek- 6/10
The English midfielder continues to show promising signs when dribbling without being able to improve his end product. A driving run from deep in his own half, all the way to the final third where he mis-timed a pass to James, highlighted his strengths and weaknesses perfectly.
Kai Havertz- N/A
Thomas Tuchel- 5/10
Tuchel will have both eyes firmly set on the transfer window now. 3rd place all but secured, Champions League football secured, but he will be hoping for a better final day performance against Watford. A bit disappointing to see no academy players on the bench, hopefully something that will change this weekend.
Twitter – @Kieranroy1
