There was a chill in the air and fans in the stands at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night as Chelsea took on Leicester City for the second time in three days. “Revenge is a dish best served cold” is a saying most of us have grown up hearing, but the cliche showed us all why it’s stuck around this long. Thomas Tuchel’s side overcame recent struggles to dispatch the Foxes in one of the season’s most crucial matches. The Blues dominated the game from start to finish with brilliant individual performances from all over the pitch. Don’t let the 2-1 scoreline fool you, Chelsea was never going to settle for anything less than three points in the return of its supporters.
The Blues’ win saw them leap up into third place and a Liverpool loss to Burnley could secure top four before the final day of the season. Regardless of what happens in the aforementioned contest, Chelsea will take the pitch on Sunday sitting comfortably inside the top four. It controls its own destiny against Aston Villa thanks to triumph over Brendan Rodgers’ Foxes.
If you’d like to know how the Blues scored in the on-field scuffle, Twitter user @ChicagoDmitry has you covered. Otherwise, here is how each individual performed in the massive victory:
Edouard Mendy (Goalkeeper): 7.5/10
Simply put, Edouard Mendy made the saves his counterpart could not on Saturday. Mendy wasn’t called upon often, but he did manage to corral a few efforts from distance. Only an outfield error prevented the Senegalese shot-stopper from keeping another clean sheet. Impressive outing nonetheless from Chelsea’s No. 1 between the sticks.
Reece James (Right centerback): 8.5/10
Reece James is 21 and has played just two senior matches at centerback. You’d think I was lying twice in that opening sentence if you’d watched this clash with no context. The English defender was remarkable once again in his redefined role. Jamie Vardy was a complete non-factor for the second game in a row, which shows the young Englishman executed his job perfectly. James’ positional flexibility—now getting time at defensive midfielder, right wingback, centerback and right back—only solidifies his importance to the club.
Thiago Silva (Centerback): 8.5/10
Thiago Silva has been a treat this season. He’s come into a football club with which he had no prior connections and immediately fallen in love with it. The Silva’s have become Chelsea’s “first family” in recent months. The patriarch of the family continuously puts in mature, unrelenting performances on the pitch while his wife and children keep the blue flag flying high from the sideline. At this point, sign him up for a lifetime contract.
Antonio Rudiger (Left centerback): 9.5/10
Antonio Rudiger came out of the shadows upon Tuchel’s arrival and has quickly made himself irreplaceable in the back line. The black mask he sports during battle—in addition to his no nonsense approach to football—makes him the most daunting figure on the field at all times. Don’t believe me? Just ask every Leicester individual he took on in the skirmish. The German is the super hero Stamford Bridge needed all along.
Kurt Zouma (Right centerback): N/A
Kurt Zouma came on in the 88′ for Cesar Azpilicueta. He was introduced to help the Blues see out the match as he slotted into the back line and pushed James further forward. A cameo in a crucial win and a French call-up for the Euros; not a bad day for the centerback.
Cesar Azpilicueta (Right wingback): 8/10
Azpilicueta was much better than he was during Saturday’s FA Cup final. Playing as a right wingback for the second match in a row with James taking over in the three-man defense, the skipper marched forward with purpose. He found himself involved in numerous goal scoring opportunities and almost got on the end of a few crosses. Azpilicueta picked up a late yellow for time-wasting as he exited the pitch late to a deserved standing ovation from the crowd in west London. He also came off the bench to intervene in the mini-brawl that broke out near the end. It was a true captain’s performance.
N’Golo Kante (Central midfielder): N/A
The former Leicester City midfielder started off the match by uncharacteristically getting forward for every attack. N’Golo Kante almost created or scored numerous goals during the opening 30 minutes as the Blues piled on the pressure. Unfortunately, he was replaced at the half-hour mark by Mateo Kovacic as he looked to pick up a knock. Thankfully, everything seems fine as Tuchel stated he thinks Kante’s substitution was purely precautionary.
Jorginho (Central midfielder): 8.5/10
Another day, another Jorginho midfield masterclass. The regista launched himself to the top of Chelsea’s Premier League scoring chart with his seventh league goal of the campaign. His penalty proved to be decisive as the Blues went on to win 2-1. Jorginho’s mature performance earned him another high rating as he continues his run of dominance under Tuchel.
Ben Chilwell (Left wingback): 7.5/10
Ben Chilwell bombed forward with ease against his old side. It was obvious he wanted a second crack at getting a goal after his late-equalizer was controversially ruled out in the FA Cup final. The English fullback found himself on the end of some brutal challenges—including the catalyst to the two teams coming together in stoppage time—but he kept himself out of the theatrics. It was a solid showing from Chilwell all things considered.
Mateo Kovacic (Central midfielder): 6.5/10
Kovacic made his return to the pitch in the 32′ for Kante. The midfielder put on a show and made his impact known throughout . . . until he didn’t. The Croatian international displayed careless control in possession that led to the Foxes’ lone goal and almost saw them equalize via his lapse in concentration late on. Those incidents alone see him plummet down the ratings list.
Christian Pulisic (Right winger): 6/10
It was another iffy day at the office for the American winger. Christian Pulisic was pretty poor overall throughout this contest. He was in the weird grey area where he was bad, but a few touches going his way would’ve resulted in a magnificent performance. No worries though, Pulisic will get right back up and get after it. Chelsea has two massive matches coming up and that means the No. 10 will be ready to star when the lights shine brightest on the world’s biggest stages.
Timo Werner (Center forward): 9/10
Putting the game aside for a second, how nice was it to hear 8,000 supporters singing Timo Werner’s name? The German has had a rough go of things this season, admittedly one of his worst to date, but he’s continued to keep a smile on his face through it all. The fans will undoubtedly help with that. Werner was unlucky once again on Tuesday. He had two goals ruled out for an offsides and handball respectively, as well as a blatant penalty that was waved off by Mike Dean. Regardless, he continued to battle. Werner earned the penalty that sealed the game for the Blues late on. He was involved in almost every attack and ran rampant in the contest. Werner deserved a goal for his efforts, but put in a Man of the Match worthy performance anyway. He’s got a bright future ahead of him at Stamford Bridge—mark my words.
Mason Mount (Left winger): 9/10
There aren’t enough words in the dictionary to describe how important Mason Mount is to Chelsea. He often found himself tracking back to pick up the ball deep before turning and making runs at the Leicester back line, as he does best. Mount continued to impress by completely playing his rival for the England midfield, James Maddison, off the pitch. He did so in front of a minimal Stamford Bridge crowd after receiving his award for being the Blues’ Player of the Season. Fitting for such an unbelievably talented youngster.
Olivier Giroud (Center forward): N/A
Olivier Giroud came on late as Tuchel gave him what will likely be—barring a complete miracle—his last outing at Stamford Bridge in a Chelsea shirt. Giroud’s biggest contribution was helping keep heads level during the coming together. If this was his last time playing for the Blues in west London, I hope he knows how much he’s meant to fans since joining three years ago.
What rating would you give each of the players? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!