Chelsea: Player ratings vs Manchester City; Pulisic MotM

N’Golo Kante (Midfielder): 7

Kante was far from the player we saw against Aston Villa. Naturally, the midfielder struggled to boss the middle of the park as he did against the Villains. He struggled to connect on some passes and made a silly foul to set De Bruyne up to equalize, but Kante played an important role in limiting the amount of chances City got through the center. Down the stretch, he made some key interceptions, but overall, it wasn’t his day.

Ross Barkley (Midfielder): 6.5

Barkley was essentially a non-factor offensively for most of the match. He made a few decent runs on counterattacks, but was never picked out by any of his teammates. The English midfielder sent a nice shot Ederson’s way, but it was easily saved. His press in the first half was vital to Chelsea maintaining its defensive shape as his running forward allowed Willian to track back and defend on the edges. However, Barkley got lost in the shuffle in the second half. He was eventually subbed off after Manchester City took control of the game as he went missing for the 30 minutes on the back end of halftime.

Mason Mount (Midfielder): 8

Mount, like Barkley, played a massive part in winning this game for the Blues. The difference being the fact that Mount continued playing with the same energy throughout the match. He didn’t do anything sexy to spectators, but the 21-year-old’s importance in this match cannot be overstated. For the second match in a row out of the quarantine break, Mount’s authoritative play in midfield helped secure for Chelsea.

Mateo Kovacic (Midfielder): 7

Kovacic may have only played around 20 minutes, but he came on during a pivotal point in the match. The Croatian’s presence in midfield helped stabilize the Blues and slow down the Manchester City attack. Aside from helping swing the momentum back in Chelsea’s favor, Kovacic didn’t do much in the time he was on the pitch, but he did just enough to be effective.

Billy Gilmour (Midfielder): N/A

Gilmour trotted out for the final five minutes of the match to get some fresh legs on the pitch. He made a scintillating pass across the pitch toward the left wing to kill time at the end of the game. That was enough to excite Chelsea fans and even Lampard himself.