Chelsea: Player ratings at Aston Villa; Mount, Azpilicueta shine

Chelsea knocked the rust off in its match against Aston Villa. The Blues came away with a 2-1 win, but how did each player perform?

A good match from the Blues saw them leave Villa Park with three much-needed points. They were widely expected to come out with a bang and that’s exactly what they did. Frank Lampard decided to go with a 4-3-3 formation for this match and even named Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the starting XI, his first appearance for Chelsea in over a year.  Despite controlling much of the game, Chelsea squeaked out a 2-1 victory. A bit rusty overall, but here’s how each player did:

Kepa Arrizabalaga (Goalkeeper): 6

Kepa Arrizabalaga had a couple of good saves throughout the match. There was nothing he could have done to save Aston VIlla’s first goal seeing as he made a miraculous save on the first shot fired his way. Based on Arrizabalaga’s performances as of late, this one can be seen as one of the better ones. Overall, a decent performance from the Spaniard. He will look to improve on his few mistakes and keep a clean sheet against Manchester City on Thursday.

Cesar Azpilicueta (Right back): 8

Cesar Azpilicueta did not have a great first half by any means. The captain’s wild crosses failed to find the head of anybody in the box during the first 45 minutes of the match. His second half performance was a complete game-changer, however. Azpilicueta made some great crosses and provided assists on the goals from Christian Pulisic and Olivier Giroud. He was solid on defense for the whole match and his two assists boosted his game.

Antonio Rudiger (Centerback): 6

Antonio Rudiger definitely seemed a bit rusty. There were some chances on defense where he cleared the ball pretty well, but there were some other moments which made spectators very worried. A couple of mistakes Rudiger had could have been very costly, but luckily, Aston Villa did not capitalize. He looks like he needs a bit more time to ease into first team football once again.

Andreas Christensen (Centerback): 6

Much like Rudiger, Andreas Christensen struggled throughout the match. Whenever he had to defend a furious Aston Villa attack, he made proper clearances. Villa’s goal was not necessarily his fault, but he didn’t do anything to stop it. As Lampard stated in the pre-match interview, he will be looking to rotate the players at the back, which means Christensen could be on the bench against Manchester City mid-week.

Marcos Alonso (Left back): 5

Marcos Alonso just could not get going. He was not very into the match in what could have been his last start for Chelsea. However, that’s not his fault as Lampard later admitted his focus was to attack down the right-hand side. Alonso barely got any crosses into the box when he was on the ball though. His performance was a perfect example as to why Chelsea is eyeing Leicester City left back Ben Chilwell. It is likely Alonso will make a few more appearances, but don’t expect too much out of the Spaniard.