Chelsea 1-0 Al Hilal player ratings: Romelu Lukaku’s goal the winner
Cesar Azpilicueta (Right wingback): 7.5/10
Azpilicueta was surprisingly better going forward in this match than he was at the back. The Spaniard looked laser focused in the tunnel before leading the Blues out prior to kickoff. That’s because, as I mentioned earlier, this is the one trophy that has eluded the skipper for his entire Chelsea career. Reece James remains sidelined until the Crystal Palace match in 10 days’ time, which means Azpilicueta will get the chance to complete his trophy collection on Saturday.
Jorginho (Central midfielder): 6.5/10
Jorginho was a passenger for large parts of the first half. He was very good when he did get involved in the play, but the problem is he rarely forced the issue. This led to him being taken off at halftime and replaced by N’Golo Kante. While this seemed like a good change at the time, it ultimately led to some instability as the half went on. Perhaps Jorginho should’ve stayed on the pitch, although he wasn’t doing much to help the Blues find a second goal.
Mateo Kovacic (Central midfielder): 8/10
It was a tale of two halves from Mateo Kovacic. He looked like an absolute world-beater in the first half as he glided by Al Hilal midfielders with ease. The Croatian midfield maestro was creating opportunities for the front three left and right in the process, helping out at both ends as he so usually does. However, when he came under more pressure later in the second half, he began to make mistakes. That led to some dangerous counters for the Saudi side. Kovacic still made those attacking contributions in the second half though, so he gets some credit in that department.
Marcos Alonso (Left wingback): 6.5/10
Marcos Alonso played a decent 87 minutes of football in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. He didn’t have much to do in the defensive third until late on, which was to be expected given Chelsea’s relentless press to kick off the match. Alonso’s interplay with Kai Havertz was encouraging down the left flank in both passing and movement. Unfortunately, a moment of sloppiness from the Spaniard almost saw Al Hilal score the game’s opener and his passiveness in the second half was rather uninspiring. Alonso continues to be an enigma.