Chelsea welcomed Malmo to Stamford Bridge and secured a resounding victory, thrashing the Swedish side 4-0 on Wednesday night. Dominant from the get-go, the host could have opened the scoring in the opening few minutes, only if Timo Werner had not fluffed his lines. Not long after though, Thomas Tuchel’s side opened the scoring through Andreas Christensen—who scored his first goal for the club—after just nine minutes.
The Blues then doubled their lead from the spot after Romelu Lukaku was brought down in the box. The tackle on Lukaku marked the end of his game as he came off with an ankle injury. Soon after that, it was Werner’s turn as he succumbed to a hamstring issue just before the halftime whistle. Thankfully, this did not impact the home side’s play much, as soon after the start of the second half, Kai Havertz produced a delightful chip over the goalkeeper to give Chelsea a 3-0 advantage. Not too long after that, Jorginho converted his second penalty of the game after Antonio Rudiger was knocked down in the area.
Here’s how each of the Blues fared in their Group H encounter:
Edouard Mendy (Goalkeeper): 6/10
The Senegalese international must have had a few naps between the goalposts today. With no attacking threat from Malmo, Edouard Mendy had no saves to make and the most he did today was get to an over-hit pass from the opponent and pass it to a teammate. It’s hard to give a rating to someone who did nothing in a side that won comfortably.
Andreas Christensen (Right centerback): 8/10
Having made over 130 appearances for Chelsea, Christensen finally scored his first goal for the club to open the scoring in the 9′. The in-form Danish centerback volleyed a cross from Thiago Silva into the ground and it bounced over the helpless goalkeeper. Apart from that, without much attacking threat from the visitors, Christensen put in a top-class performance, making forward passes with brilliant ball distribution.
Thiago Silva (Centerback): 7.5/10
Having missed the game against Brentford in the Premier League due to the UK quarantine rules, Silva made the starting line-up in the center of the defense. As always, the veteran turned out to be rock solid from the start until the final whistle. The Brazilian defender—apart from his brilliant defensive play, which ensured Mendy had no saves to make—also chipped in with an assist helping the aforementioned Christensen score his first goal for the club.
Antonio Rudiger (Left centerback): 7.5/10
As the days go by, every Chelsea fan is eager to hear the good news regarding the contract renewal talks with Antonio Rudiger. The fans might not be getting any news on that front, but game after game, they do realize how important Rudiger is to this team. With another solid performance at the back, the German international made another clean sheet his own. He even chipped in by winning a penalty in the second half.