Chelsea player ratings vs. Norwich: Blues bounce back

Chelsea bounced back from an embarrassing loss at Sheffield with a win over Norwich, here’s how we rated the players in the match.

Chelsea turned in a successful, but less than convincing, performance against Norwich. It was the familiar narrative of utter dominance mixed with impotence in the crucial moments. Fortunately, it didn’t come back to bite the Blues in the final moments, as has been a trend this season.

There were plenty of good individual performances on Tuesday, even if very few of them actually had a tangible effect on the outcome. In this flawed squad that Frank Lampard has to work with, bad performances were compensated for, while great performances went underutilized. A middling team performance, and one that won’t necessarily get the fans out of their seats (at home, obviously), but three points are three points. Nothing else matters right now.

Kepa Arrizabalaga (Goalkeeper): 6

Another match, another catastrophic mistake from Ke … what? A … clean sheet? With … zero shots on target? He made … no saves?

Well, if that’s what it takes to get a faultless performance from Chelsea’s much-maligned keeper, Lampard will surely take it. The only thing to criticize was his passing out of the back, which was a bit shaky at times due to Norwich’s pressing, and even that wasn’t too shabby.

Frankly, it’s hard to come up with much more to say. There were no incredible fingertip saves, but there were also no pathetic half-efforts at saving well-hit, but savable, shots. Arrizabalaga is apt to do both, even in the span of one match—see: Crystal Palace. A full 90’ without any of that was a welcome break from the norm. Well done to him for his minimal involvement.

Cesar Azpilicueta (Right back): 9

It was a clean sheet in a match where he was required to play on both flanks. That deserves recognition. Azpilicueta switched over to left back when Marcos Alonso was subbed off for Reece James in the 80′ minute. This was presumably to cover Emiliano Buendia, who had replaced Todd Cantwell and his cascade of crimped and bleached hair, nine minutes prior. The result was Buendia providing nothing of value and picking up a yellow card for his troubles. Safe to say Azpilicueta succeeded in his assigned mission, as he’s done countless times in his career.

While he almost single-handedly neutralized Norwich’s best player in the final knockings of the match, Azpilicueta’s first 80 minutes were equally pristine. In total, Chelsea’s captain led the team in tackles, clearances and blocked shots, while ranking second in interceptions behind Antonio Rudiger. Whether you want to go by the eye test or statistics, there’s no arguing that Azpilicueta put on a defensive masterclass.

Should that have been necessary against the worst team in the league? Probably not, but that’s hardly Azpilicueta’s fault. An excellent defensive performance is always welcome though, and Lampard will appreciate the one he received from Azpilicueta on Tuesday.

Antonio Rudiger (Centerback): 7

Rudiger was exceptional in almost every phase of the game, a statement that has rarely rung true for Chelsea’s centerbacks this season. Andreas Christensen set the bar so incredibly low in the Sheffield United match that Rudiger was almost certain to turn in a more impressive performance. That’s just basic math. Fortunately, his actual performance backed that math up.

In the one instance where Norwich looked like it was through on goal, it was Rudiger who came in with a perfectly-timed sliding challenge to intercept Kenny McLean’s through ball for Onel Hernandez. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, it very well may have kept Chelsea’s top four hopes afloat.

Again, a match against the only relegated team in the league shouldn’t require especially stout defending. After the Sheffield match though, a clean sheet would have been the biggest point of emphasis for Lampard. Rudiger played a big part in achieving one, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Lampard stick with the German for Chelsea’s remaining matches.

Kurt Zouma (Centerback): 6

A perfectly fine performance. It’s no secret that Zouma lacks the kind of deft passing skills that Lampard would certainly like in a centerback, but he provides just about everything else. Given Chelsea’s overwhelming dominance at times in the match, his inability to really kickstart any attacking moves stood out, especially as the Blues struggled to make any inroads through the likes of Jorginho or Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

It’s a good thing when we’re forced to pick on a centerback’s attacking play. It means the team was constantly pushing forward while receiving little response from the opposition. You would be hard pressed to find any serious defensive mistakes, beyond the occasional dangerous attempts to play the ball out of the back. Even then, Zouma has seemingly made up his mind that it can be better just to clear the ball out as far as you can and live to fight another day. On Tuesday, that wasn’t required especially often, but he did so effectively when the situation called for it. Pragmatic defending in a side that desperately needs it.

Marcos Alonso (Left back): 7

A really difficult one to parse. Defensively, there’s not much to talk about. Alonso was essentially Chelsea’s left winger, as Christian Pulisic pushed infield and Chelsea held the ball in Norwich’s half almost constantly. If I had a nickel for every diagonal ball played across the field to a completely unmarked Alonso, I’d have enough money to replace him with Ben Chilwell. Unfortunately, he never managed to manufacture a goal or assist out of his many forays down the left flank, but he did create the space that Pulisic used to set up Giroud’s goal.

This was a good match for Alonso in that it essentially demanded the exact type of performance Antonio Conte would have expected of him as an actual left wing back. He’s absolutely world class at that very specific role. Unfortunately, that role isn’t a major part of Lampard’s tactics. On days like Tuesday, however, that type of specialist can certainly have an effect on a match.

As useful as Alonso was against Norwich, it’s important to remember that Alonso is not the solution at left back. As Chelsea face a tough final run of fixtures, it’s entirely possible that this was Alonso’s swan song at Chelsea.

Reece James (Right back): 7

This was the perfect game for James: all attack, no defense. Without any routine defensive duties to attend to, James was free join the attack at every conceivable opportunity. Despite some brilliant deliveries, none connected with a blue shirt. The quality of his passing deserved at least one assist. James only played about fifteen minutes, but he fit in perfectly to the flow of the match, and did just enough defensively to close out the match.

Whether he’ll make any more meaningful contributions this season remains to be seen, but this cameo role off of the bench was effective, and it could be the best way for Lampard to use the young fullback over the next few matches.