Chelsea practically wrestled the win out of Brentford’s clutches at the Brentford Community Stadium in a hard-fought 1-0 win. A clean half-volley from Ben Chilwell saw the Blues hold on for dear life and see out the win. It was a magnificent team effort, but how did the player’s fare individually:
Edouard Mendy, Keeper:10+5
Mendy was not given enough credit last season because he was supposedly protected by the defense. In reality, he was protecting the defense, as he has shown this season. Unfortunately we live in a world where a goalkeeper needs to be behind a less than stellar backline to prove his prowess. Chelsea was on the ropes in the final 15 minutes of the Brentford game and Mendy single-handedly kept them in it.
Trevoh Chalobah, Centerback: 7.5
Chalobah was very good defensively, which is what you need him to be. He won just 1 out of 8 contested aerial duels though, which is poor for someone who is 190cm (6 ft. 3). For comparison, that’s Zouma’s height. Chalobah was drawn into a battle against Ivan Toney and he lost most of it
unfortunately. He did make that crucial clearance off the goal line in the second half. Chalobah has played well whenever he has been selected, he deserves to start more games.
Andreas Christensen, Centerback: 7
Christensen led the defense well and his passing was good. He was focused and made some key interceptions at crucial points in the match. He was incredibly composed at all times. He too, unfortunately was not very good in the air, winning 3 out of 9 aerial duels.
Malang Sarr, Centerback: 9
Sarr was superb today. He made the most defensive actions, and made a case for himself to deputize Toni Rudiger in the left centerback role. He made several crucial interceptions and tackles that saved the Blues from some potentially embarrassing situations.
Cesar Azpilicueta, Right wingback: 6
Azpilicueta didn’t do much before Brentford got on top of the Blues in the final 15-20 minutes of the match. He did match Brentford intensity though.
N’Golo Kante, Centermid: 7
Kante was everywhere. He occupied good spaces in attacking transitions and moved the ball well when it came to him. He also helped match Brentford’s intensity in the middle of the pitch. Kante made the right decisions in the final third too, though he only created one chance
, but then again closest person to a creator in midfield was Mateo Kovacic.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Centermid: 8.5
Loftus-Cheek was very good in retaining the ball, especially in tight spaces. He also helped in driving the ball forward, as Brentford worked hard to restrict the spaces the Blues could work with. Loftus-Cheek also played a crucial role in winning fouls in key moments to ease the pressure on the team. This is reflected in the fact that Loftus-Cheek won the most fouls of any Chelsea player on the pitch and completed the most dribbles of any player on the pitch. He also contested (19) and won (12) the most duels of any player on the pitch. Loftus-Cheek had a very good game.
Mateo Kovacic, Centermid: 7
Kovacic tried to do his usual; weaving his way out of trouble and distributing superbly, much of it didn’t come off today though, especially the distribution part. Kovacic did not have an easy time in the midfield against Brentford, then again who does? Kovacic won 6 out of 9 duels and complete 3 out of 4 attempted dribbles.
Ben Chilwell, Left wingback: 8
Chilwell particularly deserves credit for trying to influence the match from both sides of the ball. He made 13 defensive actions, including 8 clearances and 4 tackles. He also attempted 9 crosses and 3 long balls, none of which came off. There was a point in the match Chelsea was on the break and Chilwell had a perfect opportunity to play in Lukaku who was running down the channel. That moment was infuriating to say the least, but overall he had a good game, topped off by scoring the winning goal. A well taken half-volley as well. He was alert to Brentford’s back post runs, which is something Chelsea has suffered from often in the past.
Timo Werner, Striker: 7
The midfielders and forwards didn’t get the ball to Werner as often as they should have. Werner continued making his runs and always made himself an option for a quick breakaway. He was unable to linkup with Romelu Lukaku much but that was as much down to other factors as it was himself (more other factors than himself). He also found himself dropping deep to influence play a lot, as the forwards were isolated for several chunks of the match.
Romelu Lukaku, Striker: 5
Lukaku was shockingly ineffective. To be fair he was making runs and trying to get into shooting positions whenever the ball was on the wings. He tried to hold up play and was often unsuccessful at that too. He only managed 1 shot (off target). Top strikers help their teams create top quality chances with their movement. Lukaku needs to do that too. The expectation on him is high.
Mason Mount, Substitute, (65′): 5.5
Mount was on the pitch for 25 minutes but he might as well not have been. This isn’t entirely his fault either. Brentford was piling pressure on the Blues toward the need of that match and they were nearly rewarded. Mount didn’t get many opportunities to do anything with the ball
Kai Havertz, Substitute, (77′): 6
Havertz was on the pitch for 13 minutes and he really didn’t do much. He did win 5 out of 7 duels though. Ultimately there’s nothing to be said about Havertz.
Reece James, Substitute, (89′): N/A
James was on the pitch for one minute. He could not have influenced the game substantially in one minute (study suggests).
How would you rate everyone in this one? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!