It was the sweet silence of the Kop, which made Kai Havertz’s opening goal for Chelsea against Liverpool all the more enjoyable for the Blues faithful. The German stuck out his neck to meet a Reece James corner, and the ball looped over the desperate Alisson into the net. Silence gave way to chaos as the clock struck 45′. A Liverpool corner, poorly dealt with by Chelsea, led to a penalty for the Reds and a subsequent red card for James—the Englishman adjudged to have deliberately prevented a goal-scoring opportunity. Former Blue Mohamed Salah netted from the spot.
Much has been made of Chelsea’s defensive resilience ever since Thomas Tuchel took over the team. It was that defensive resilience that helped the Blues shut out a frustrated home side for the remaining 45 minutes. The Reds looked for an opening in the Chelsea defense but were unable to find any; when they did, they were met by the strong wrists of Edouard Mendy. Chelsea celebrated as if it had won the game when the referee blew the final whistle—it meant just that much to the team. Meanwhile, Liverpool and Klopp cut a frustrated figure on the sidelines, knowing that they had dropped two valuable points.
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Here’s how the players fared in this clash.
Eduoard Mendy (Goalkeeper): 9.5/10
Mendy stepped up big time for his team in the second half as the Blues defended the space in front of their goal with their backs against the wall. The custodian made several good stops to preserve his goal, commanded his area well, and eased the pressure on his defense through long kicks towards Romelu Lukaku. The Senegal international looked unbeatable out on the pitch, and his performance was deserving of the Man of the Match award, even if he didn’t get one.
Cesar Azpilicueta (Centerback): 9/10
It was his birthday, but he was the one doing the gifting. Cesar Azpilicueta gave his teammates, coach and fans a brilliant defensive performance. Azpilicueta started as the right centerback and moved further up the pitch once James was shown the red card. The 32-year-old was attentive to the threat carried by Sadio Mane and the overlapping Andrew Robertson and dealt well with both of them.
Andreas Christensen (Centerback): 9/10
The Dane hardly put a foot wrong during Liverpool’s second-half attack. He headed the ball away to safety multiple times, made numerous challenges and helped prevent the opposition attackers breach the Chelsea goal.
Antonio Rudiger (Centerback): 7.5/10
Antonio Rudiger’s first-half display left some causes for concern. The German didn’t deal particularly well with the threat of Salah on the right; both he and Marcos Alonso were left exposed constantly. However, he improved after the interval and helped the Blues preserve their point.
Thiago Silva (Centerback): 8/10
Thiago Silva looked spry and alert for his first appearance of the season. The veteran centerback entered the pitch after the break as a tactical sub, as Tuchel decided to keep his team’s defensive shape by sacrificing one of the attackers. He fought off the Liverpool forwards and their many onslaughts in the second half and helped the Blues secure a point.
Reece James (Right wingback): 5/10
One glance at the VAR screen was enough for Anthony Taylor to give a penalty against James, followed by a red card for what the referee deemed to be deliberate handball and prevention of a clear goal-scoring opportunity. Whether or not that was the right call is a question that will be asked over the next few days. Nonetheless, James saw red, and Liverpool equalized from the resulting spot-kick.
Jorginho (Central midfielder): 7/10
2020 UEFA Men’s Player of the Year Jorginho had his sloppy moments, especially with the ball at his feet. However, he was solid defensively in the second half and often helped Chelsea escape pressure with quick passes into the feet of his teammates.
N’Golo Kante (Central midfielder): 7/10
N’Golo Kante was at his usual best in the first half of the game—breaking down Liverpool attacks and sparking them for Chelsea. However, the Frenchman was subbed off during the interval because of a knock he picked up during the first period.
Marcos Alonso (Left wingback): 6/10
Marcos Alonso struggled against Mohamed Salah in the first half. The Spaniard was often caught out of position as the reds quickly circulated the ball between themselves and subsequently out wide. Furthermore, James’ sending off and Liverpool’s resulting spot-kick sprang out of a miscommunication between he and Mendy. Nonetheless, Alonso redeemed himself ever so slightly in the second half. He was attentive to the threat of Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold and was willing to run up the pitch to join the attack when possible.
Mateo Kovacic (Central midfielder): 8/10
Mateo Kovacic came on for Kante ahead of the second period. The Croat boosts a different profile than that of the Frenchman. To that end, he didn’t hustle and harry his opponents to try and win the ball back. Instead, he kept shape, was alert to opposition runners, and tried to calm the play down whenever possible. A late opportunity came his way when he was sent through on goal by Lukaku, but his shot was saved by Alisson.
Trevoh Chalobah (Central midfielder): N/A
Trevoh Chalobah came on as a late substitute for Jorginho and took his place in central midfield. He defended well but made too short of an appearance to have any lasting impact.
Kai Havertz (Right winger): 8.5/10
It was the German’s expertly taken goal that gave Chelsea the lead on the night. Furthermore, Havertz’s smart runs in behind threatened to disrupt Liverpool’s high line, while he was an asset to Chelsea in the defensive phase of play. Unfortunately, the forward was the unlucky victim of James’ sending off, as he was subbed off for an extra defender during the interval.
Romelu Lukaku (Striker): 8/10
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Lukaku’s role was reduced to that of a target man in the second half. As such, he was unable to put in the same dominant performance like the one he did last week against Pablo Mari. Nevertheless, the Belgian held the ball up well, almost scored a goal, and created another for Kovacic.
11 against 11, Lukaku went up against the Liverpool central defensive pairing of Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip. The forward stayed away from his counterparts and instead received the ball to his feet before springing forward in attack on several occasions. His decision-making could’ve been slightly better on occasions, especially in the first half. Nevertheless, it was another solid—albeit scoreless—performance from him.
Mason Mount (Left winger): 8/10
It was a tale of two halves for Mason Mount. The Englishman looked sharp in attack during the first half and nearly scored Chelsea’s second goal of the night, only for a slight deflection to divert his strike wide of the post. In the second period, Mount worked hard to try and knick the ball back from the opposition attackers and force them to go backward as the Blues defended the scoreline with 10 men. He defended well, kept a close eye on his mark, and was instrumental in creating his team’s best goal-scoring opportunity in that period. All in all, it was another superb display from Mount, who continues to impress both his coach and his fanbase, week in, week out.
What ratings would you give each player? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!