Chelsea player ratings: Willian sets the standard for Pulisic and everyone else
By George Perry
Chelsea’s best XI is coming together as the players on the pitch are giving Frank Lampard little reason to look for other options. Willian made Christian Pulisic’s challenge that much harder, although Pulisic responded appropriately with the little time he had.
Chelsea go into the international break on a run of four wins across three competitions and in fifth place in the Premier League, only two points behind second-place Manchester City. The Blues had a five- or six-way tie for vice-Man of the Match against Southampton, but Willian takes the top honours in our player ratings.
Kepa Arrizabalaga, Goalkeeper: 7
Chelsea’s defenders are not as good as playing out from the back as they may think they do. Kepa Arrizabalaga is not as good with the ball at his feet as he may think he is (and he has never struck us as having many deficits in confidence). The Blues don’t need another source of cheaply conceded goals to go with set pieces and cutbacks of either the crisp top-of-the-box kind or those of Southampton’s jumbled sloppiness leading to a half-baked chance that turns into 2-1 kind.
Arrizabalaga needs to work on his decision-making and proactive communication in those situation, perhaps emulating Jorginho by shouting and pointing to where his defenders should play the ball: upfield. And when they either disobey him or have no other option, he needs to follow his own advice and leather the ball out of danger instead inviting a game of five-a-side in his box.
Cesar Azpilicueta, Right back: 8
Cesar Azpilicueta has been and remains one of the best one-on-one defenders in the Premier League, but sometimes even he needs a little help from his friends, if for no other reason to ensure he is not left exposed defensively on the pitch and then in the court of ignorant public opinion.
Willian has done as much as anyone for Cesar Azpilicueta over the last month. With Willian coming back to defend and offer himself as an outlet pass from the defensive third, Azpilicueta finds him isolated against multiple opposition players far less frequently. N’Golo Kante’s return to the lineup further buttresses Chelsea’s right side defensively, both while defending deep and as a covering option in advanced positions so Azpilicueta and Willian can more aggressively overlap.
It takes nothing away from Azpilicueta to credit Willian and Kante like this. Azpilicueta is the ultimate team player, and he would insist they get the credit for so much of his own hard work.
Kurt Zouma, Centreback: 7
Kurt Zouma has been the worrisome, inconsistent member of Chelsea’s various centreback batteries this season. But with Fikayo Tomori having an unusually shaky day, Zouma raised his level enough to repay a few favours to Tomori.
Even though Chelsea did not need a three-man defence against Lille and ultimately needed to shed a centerback (via Reece James going off and Azpilicueta going to right back) to find their way forward last week, a third centreback still seems like a safer option compared to any of their pairings. One of Zouma’s best qualities is his ability to pinch forward and stopper the play high up the pitch. However, this vacates space behind him which the Blues are not set up to cover. It invites a counter-attack. Southampton were not able to launch any, but the space was there, as it often is.
Fikayo Tomori, Centreback: 6.5
If a player like Fikayo Tomori is going to have a game like this, better it be against Southampton than more dangerous teams. The defender was unusually error prone, particularly in his decisions and execution for passing around the box. You could even say it was Zouma-esque, and at some point someone should have recognized that it was nobody’s best day in the ball-playing department and just started hoofing it up field.
Tomori will hopefully make his senior England debut during this upcoming international break, and we’ll all quickly forget about this little blip.
Marcos Alonso, Left back: 8.5
We said when Emerson Palmieri got injured – as we have for other Blues over the years – that many times the only chance a player has of getting (back) into the starting XI is for one of his teammates to be unavailable. When Emerson returns he’s going to feel it’s 2017 or 2018 all over again, where he is finally healed and watching a player who took his spot become all but undroppable.
Marcos Alonso once again tied together the play along Chelsea’s left side. He is like the shadow member of the left side triangle that stars Mason Mount and Callum Hudson-Odoi. They get the attention for many obvious reasons, but Alonso is there moving the ball into position while the young duo moves themselves into position; making runs into space while they are on the ball, giving them more room and more options to work with; and being an outlet who quickly turns into a source of crosses. It’s reminiscent of how he connected the left side from Gary Cahill to Eden Hazard in those first few months of Antonio Conte’s 3-4-3.
And while Alonso’s critics will usually follow up any praise of his offensive abilities with a rapid “but defence!” the Spaniard shared the lead with Kurt Zouma for 10 defensive actions: five tackles, one interception and four clearances.