Chelsea player ratings: Christensen, Hudson-Odoi should have been in best XI
By George Perry
Callum Hudson-Odoi, Right wing: 7
Chelsea gave Callum Hudson-Odoi a bag of frustration at the worst possible time. For the first 25-30 minutes, he was making fast runs through and behind Tottenham’s lines but Eden Hazard either did not see him or chose not to pass. Willian, obviously, would rather dribble into oblivion than pass, regardless of who is open. This left Hudson-Odoi wondering what he would have to do to get service from anyone other than Cesar Azpilicueta.
His outputs were as stymied as his inputs. Hudson-Odoi is an impeccable crosser from the right, as demonstrated in the last game with his two assists to Alvaro Morata. But he had no one to aim for during his 63 minutes on the right.
He switched to the left when Pedro came on. Hudson-Odoi is a stronger dribbler on the left side, but by this point Chelsea were entering their frenetic phase of chasing the game with no real plan. Hudson-Odoi came off in the 79′ for Olivier Giroud, the man he needed for the first hour.
Eden Hazard, Forward: 6.5
Contrary to what Maurizio Sarri will tell you, Eden Hazard does not like playing in the centre of the front line. He showed it on Tuesday, with a performance that can be described as a case of the Willian’s. Hazard was not his usual imaginative self, not only because of his positioning and tactics but from what looked like a lack of interest. He dropped even deeper than usual to retrieve the ball which allowed Tottenham to collapse around him. With no one covering Hazard in the centre, this left Chelsea with a fully headless offence.
Tottenham were more than happy to see this Eden Hazard in this position show up at Wembley. Whatever Maurizio Sarri thinks of his strikers or other options for false-nine, he needs to move on from this experiment.
dark. Next. Chelsea should not forget Jose Mourinho's maxim that all cups are good cups
Willian, Left wing: 5
Is there anything that hasn’t been said a few dozen times already?