Chelsea player ratings: A fine draw masks tired legs

Chelsea and Sevilla countered one another perfectly, resulting in a pretty dour 0-0. The result is fine but masks some very tired legs.

Given how terrible Chelsea’s defense has been all season, a clean sheet against the current Europa League holders, a team that held Bayern Munich not long ago, and one of La Liga’s best is a fine result. The shine is taken off of it because Chelsea, no matter who they had on attack, couldn’t craft a chance to save their life. The result is fine, but it is masking tired legs ahead of a massive Premier League clash on the weekend.

Edouard, Keeper, 8.0

Did Mendy do anything exceptional? No not really. He made the grabs he had to make, sent the ball where it needed sending, and he was in general present when he had to be to stop the ball. The unfortunate thing is that all those things have become exceptional at Chelsea since Thibaut Courtois started opening his legs wide for any shot to come through. Mendy was great without really doing anything great, and that is pretty great for Chelsea.

Reece James, Right back, 9.0

With Christian Pulisic ahead of him on the right, James was tasked with staying deeper around midfield and defense like Cesar Azpilicueta did against Southampton. The main argument against using James that way is he loses his crossing. In return, James opted to show he has a cannon of a long ball to (nearly) find the striker in behind. Defensively he looks much more confident closer to the center as well. It might be an idea to continue with Ben Chilwell providing width out of the back now.

Thiago Silva, Centerback, 7.0

Silva was a fairly solid rock at the back. He still has a habit of making very light, hospital passes over a short distance which causes or nearly causes Chelsea massive issues, but otherwise he is fantastic. Despite his age and pace, the Blues were more or less able to hold their high line as Silva quickly becomes the most reliable centerback.

Kurt Zouma, Centerback, 5.0

It has not been a great week for Zouma. Like Antonio Rudiger going into last season from the season before, he was the best centerback on paper. Then something changed and now the basics look a struggle. He nearly had a goal or two at one end, but nearly cost the same at the other. Whatever is going on with the Frenchman, it needs to be fixed quickly before the same fate that befell Rudiger befalls him too.

Ben Chilwell, Left back, 8.0

Chilwell made sure he wasn’t shown up by his opposite fullback. Whereas James stayed more conservative, Chilwell was patrolling up and down the flank offensively and defensively. He was virtually always an option for a Blue player to escape pressure. For the player that was perhaps wanted least this transfer window, he is easily performing the best thus far.