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Chelsea player ratings: MOTM for Kepa, large dose of context for Jorginho

By George Perry

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 03: Ryan Babel of Fulham and Andreas Christiansen of Chelsea clash during the Premier League match between Fulham FC and Chelsea FC at Craven Cottage on March 03, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 03: Ryan Babel of Fulham and Andreas Christiansen of Chelsea clash during the Premier League match between Fulham FC and Chelsea FC at Craven Cottage on March 03, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 27: Gonzalo Higuain of Chelsea controls the ball during the FA Cup Fourth Round match between Chelsea and Sheffield Wednesday at Stamford Bridge on January 27, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /

Willian, Right wing: 6.5

All three Chelsea forwards had two shots on target. Willian and Eden Hazard took five overall, and Gonzalo Higuain took six. Willian was fouled as much as the rest of the starting XI combined: five times, which says a lot about his interest in the game relative to Hazard’s. Willian also had a solid game tracking back into midfield to defend and put in a solid if unspectacular shift.

Gonzalo Higuain, Striker: 6

Gonzalo Higuain had the best chances of any of Chelsea’s forwards but only put one of them in the net. His three goals have come against the 19th and 20th place teams, which means he is on track to being Chelsea’s flat-track bully. That’s not necessarily a bad thing nor is it a bad archetype to have on the team. But not as your only option, and not given the promises with which he arrived.

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Meanwhile, elsewhere in Europe, Alvaro Morata scored his second and third goals for Atletico Madrid, against the eighth-place Real Sociedad.

Eden Hazard, Left wing: 6.5

Hazard’s performance is worthy of the debate not enough people will have. After having a blunted impact against Tottenham, Hazard looked like he and Chelsea would benefit from him spending a day on the bench. The 19th place side seemed a perfect opportunity for him to rest and recover while Callum Hudson-Odoi could double his total Premier League minutes for the season (he is currently at 74 minutes in four appearances).

Instead, Sarri did what Sarri does and Hazard put in much the same quality performance as he did against Spurs. So some of his rating is on the manager as much as him. What did Sarri really expect?

But what should anyone expect from Hazard at this point? For several seasons now he has done nothing to end the reputation that he goes missing from games and that the Hazard everybody knows and loves is the product of him deciding to be that player – or not – in any given game. Was this fatigue or was this apathy? Has Hazard played too much in a compact timeframe, or has he played more than he cares to for the club?

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Hard to say at this point. Hazard is certainly among the harder players to motivate since his motivations seem so divorced from those of his peers at the absolute top tier of football. Sarri’s management style was supposed to appeal particularly to Hazard (#SundayFunday), but Sarri’s struggles to motivate anyone seem to extend to the Belgian.

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