In a tricky away encounter in the Europa League, Chelsea came out on top. They secured their place in the knockout rounds of the competition, but did not impress anyone in the process.
Stumbled isn’t really the right word, because it was more uninspired than actively bad. Chelsea crawled their way to a clean sheet and three points in a Europa League group stage match to forget. Here are the player ratings for the starting lineup and substitutions.
Kepa Arrizabalaga, goalkeeper: 7
Arrizabalaga had a good game and was rarely called into action. Most of the time when he had to dive, the posts and the bar did the work for him. He was lucky to keep a clean sheet, but through no fault of his own. He already feels very comfortable in the team, and his distribution is impressively cool and measured. He is yet to be tested much this season, but he’s also yet to make any sort of mistake.
Davide Zappacosta, right back: 6
Zappacosta had an OK day at the office. He went up the line, didn’t do much, then went back down the line and didn’t do much there either. This pattern repeated itself. He, Pedro and Ruben Loftus-Cheek had a few nice passing triangles at times, but they never really led anywhere. Every time we write player ratings after a game of his, we come to the same conclusion: he is a decent backup to Cesar Azpilicueta, but does not currently challenge him.
Gary Cahill, centre back: 6
It was nice to see the oldest outfield member of the squad get 90 minutes, less nice to watch him struggle at times. He turned up to save a goal at the end of the game, but for large parts of it played like an old head on older shoulders. In these types of games he often finds it difficult to make his experience count.
Andreas Christensen, centre back: 5.5
Andreas Christensen did not have a very good game. He is playing like he is not buying into Maurizio Sarri’s system and philosophy, and as a result Sarri continues to only play him in smaller games. It is a vicious cycle, one which inevitably ends with a move away unless something changes.
He, or at the very least his family, has always been quick to voice discontent at a lack of playing time, but every time he takes to the pitch he shows no reason why Sarri should start him over a flawed David Luiz. At least he got through the full game without being substituted.
Emerson Palmieri, left back: 7
Emerson Palmeiri played a very good cross for Olivier Giroud’s goal. For much of the game he struggled to maintain his composure in the final third, with a few wild shots that did not trouble the keeper. Attacking is a very important part of his game, so he will be pleased to take an assist from the game. But like the fullback who started on the other side of Chelsea’s defence, he is no threat to the regular starter.