Chelsea player ratings vs. West Ham: Abraham, Silva save the Blues
Chelsea is finally back to winning ways after a nervous 90 minutes, but a comfortable 3-0 win in the end. How did each of the players perform?
Chelsea—after three games without a win, including two consecutive losses—finally tasted victory by putting three by West Ham at the Stamford Bridge. Now, if you didn’t get a chance to watch the game, you’d think, “oh, this was a routine 3-0 win for Chelsea.” Well, it wasn’t; West Ham dominated the ball for large stretches of the game, specifically in the second half. The Hammers sometimes looked dangerous, but, the Blues’ centrebacks were crucial in making sure that Edouard Mendy was not tested on the day.
Chelsea now moves up to 5th place, ahead of Tottenham on goal difference. It wasn’t the best Blues performance of the season, but it was enough to get a much-needed win.
All of that being said, how did each player perform individually?
Edouard Mendy (Goalkeeper): 6.5/10
To be honest, Mendy didn’t have a lot to do in this game, even though West Ham had the ball around Chelsea’s box for a good chunk of the time. After all, the Hammers didn’t manage a single shot on target the whole evening. They did have 24 crosses though, some of which had to be either caught or parried away by the Senegalese goalkeeper. His distribution was decent, as always, and it was just a solid performance. He did concede a few goals, but they were all correctly ruled out for offside or other fouls. Another clean sheet for Mendy.
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Cesar Azpilicueta (Right back): 6.5/10
Cesar Azpilicueta was filling in for the injured Reece James against West Ham and he wasn’t bad at all. Going forward he had his problems, buy he did try his best to be a productive two-way fullback. It wasn’t as good as the shift he gave on the other end of the pitch though, particularly in the second half. The Spanish defender had a lot to do to handle Pablo Fornals throughout and he had quite a few crucial interventions throughout the game, one of which was blocking a powerful shot by the aforementioned. His rating would’ve been higher if he was a little better on the offensive end. He also had a bad giveaway in the 24′ as well, when he let the ball slip under his feet near Chelsea’s box.
Kurt Zouma (Centreback): 8/10
How is Kurt Zouma this good? He didn’t put a foot wrong the whole game, and was vital in clearing the dozens of crosses coming into Chelsea’s box. He had a few fantastic defensive highlights, and his distribution was on point. This guy is honestly one of the best centrebacks in the world right now, and still criminally underrated. Great performance from the Frenchman.
Thiago Silva (Centreback): 9/10
Thiago Silva was like Zouma, but with a little better defending, a few more blocks, a couple more interventions, better distribution and one more goal. Keep in mind, the Brazilian is 36 years old. He has been one of Chelsea’s best players—if not the best—this season, and has truly been a leader at the back. He literally put his body on the line while defending on numerous occasions on Monday. It was a fantastic performance by the veteran who scored a great header too. How old is he again?
Ben Chilwell (Left back): N/A
Ben Chilwell started the game, but had to be brought off early in the first half due to what appeared to be a nasty ankle injury. He tried to continue, but couldn’t, and was subbed off for Emerson in the 10′. Hopefully the injury is not that severe.
Emerson (Left back): 5/10
Not really a lot to say about the Brazilian left back, to be fully honest with you. He made a few forward runs, sometimes came back to defend. He wasn’t really noticeable, I guess he did his job, but nothing that stood out at all.