Chelsea dueling player ratings: Solid but lucky against Atletico Madrid

Chelsea maintained its unbeaten start to the Thomas Tuchel era with what was probably the most impressive performance under the German’s tutelage. The Blues took on La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid in Bucharest, and they came away with a narrow advantage which could easily have been wider based on the overall balance of play. Olivier Giroud’s fifth Champions League goal of the season ultimately settled the contest, but how did he and his other teammates fare in this one?

Edouard Mendy (Goalkeeper): 5.5/10

The Senegalese had little to do en route to yet another shut-out in the Champions League as Chelsea limited its opponents to no effort on target. Notwithstanding, his distribution was suspect at times, and he was lucky to get away with a loose touch which on another day, could have seen him concede a penalty.

Cesar Azpilicueta (Centerback): 7.5/10

The Chelsea skipper rolled back the years with an excellent performance on his 409th appearance for the club. Azpilicueta had the most touches, won the most duels, completed the most clearances as well as most tackles. He was a key reason as to why his side was largely untroubled defensively. Notwithstanding his overhit pass to Mendy early in the game, he was solid for the rest of the game

Andreas Christensen (Centerback): 7/10

The Dane was given the nod ahead of Kurt Zouma to replace the injured Thiago Silva and he justified his manager’s faith with an impeccable display in the heart of Chelsea’s defence. Christensen marshalled Luis Suarez throughout the entire 90 minutes and reduced to Uruguayan’s usually enormous threat to the bare minimum.

Antonio Rudiger (Centerback): 6/10

Rudiger began the game on a shaky note as it was his lack of communication with Alonso that almost presented Suarez with a chance to break the deadlock. Nonetheless, he improved as the game wore on and helped protect Chelsea’s 1-0 lead with numerous interceptions and clearances.