Chelsea player ratings vs. Leicester City: Plenty of room for improvement
By Tan Yi Hao
Chelsea dragged themselves over the line to a draw against Leicester City. The Blues’ performances leave plenty of room for improvement.
Chelsea’s individual and team performances in the first 20 minutes gave plenty of hope that they would win their first three points of the season at Stamford Bridge. Then things started to tail off, and then crater, as the Blues fought chaotically just to salvage a draw.
Kepa Arrizabalaga, Goalkeeper: 6
The Spaniard had a nervy moment in the opening half of the match which saw him almost caught in possession. It was an uncharacteristic error and apart from that, he was rarely tested throughout the rest of the game.
Arrizabalaga was left with no chance against Wilfred Ndidi’s powerful header into the top corner, as Cesar Azpilicueta’s poor marking meant the loss of yet another clean sheet for the keeper.
Cesar Azpilicueta, Right back: 4
Maybe Frank Lampard’s system leave his fullbacks exposed, but Chelsea’s captain dropped yet another poor performance when placed up against the attacking duo of Jamie Vardy and James Maddison. From misplaced passes to poor crossing, Azpilicueta truly had a day to forget and was also at fault for the goal conceded by allowing the goalscorer, Wilfred Ndidi, to get in front of him from the corner kick.
Faced with increasing voices of dissent from the Chelsea fanbase, the fullback really has to up his game or risk having his position as starter come under further scrutiny.
for later. Reece James may shape where, not if, Cesar Azpilicueta plays. light
Kurt Zouma / Andreas Christensen, Center backs: 6.5
The defensive duo of Christensen and Zouma put in a performance worthy of a clean sheet against Leicester in what is starting to appear a promising centre back partnership. Both were composed with the ball at their feet and made several vital, last ditch tackles to deny Leicester City their chance to hit on the break, especially when Chelsea went forward in numbers late on in search of a winner.
That a combination of Vardy, Maddison and Ayoze Perez was not able to score, is a testament to the quality of the defensive work put in by Chelsea’s centre backs.
Emerson, Left back: 5.5
Leicester City’s use of the wide areas on the attack was directed at Lampard’s use of his fullbacks as additional attacking options going forward. This meant both Emerson and Azpilicueta were always running the risk of being caught out when Leicester ran in behind.
While Emerson’s pace could somewhat negate the effects of this tactical disadvantage out wide, there nonetheless remain times when the Brazilian was caught out of position during the latter stages of the match.