Chelsea squeaked by Al Hilal in the FIFA Club World Cup semifinal on Saturday, winning the match by a score of 1-0. Romelu Lukaku got the scoring started for the Blues after half an hour, which looked to be the goal to open the floodgates for the reigning European Champions. That assumption could not have been more wrong. Instead, the English side saw out a scrappy contest against their Saudi Arabian opponents. There were some big individual moments in the game, but overall, it required a great team effort to see out the game.
Chelsea is now through to the final of the Club World Cup. The match will be played on Saturday in the UAE. Similar to 2012—the only other CWC final the Blues have played in—a Brazilian giant will oppose them. Palmeiras is the opponent, but before moving on to preview that contest, let’s break down each player’s performance against Al Hilal on Wednesday.
Here is how each player performed in the Blues’ Club World Cup semifinal victory:
Kepa Arrizabalaga (Goalkeeper): 9/10
Kepa Arrizabalaga has come a long way in the last few months. He went from being overtaken by a near 40-year-old Willy Caballero in the UEFA Champions League to winning trophies in abundance. He remains Chelsea’s No. 2, but that is largely due to the excellence of Edouard Mendy. Regardless, in the Senegalese’s absence, Arrizabalaga has stepped up big time. He put in another Man of the Match worthy shift versus Al Hilal as his two massive saves kept the Blues from another stressful finish to a game. Arrizabalaga has a chance to become a massive part of the club’s rich history on Saturday.
Andreas Christensen (Right centerback): 9/10
I cannot say enough about the shift Andreas Christensen put in against the AFC Champions League winners on Wednesday. He was everywhere in defense, cutting out passes and making tackles for fun. It was nice to see the Dane get a full 90 minutes under his belt following a precautionary switch that saw him yanked at halftime against Plymouth. Christensen stepped up to the occasion and supporters even saw a bit of uncharacteristic aggression from the centerback.
Thiago Silva (Centerback): 8.5/10
Thiago Silva would’ve gotten a lot more praise from fans during the match if it wasn’t for Christensen’s brilliance. He made numerous blocks on shots to prevent Arrizabalaga from making diving saves behind him. Silva was cool under pressure from Al Hilal throughout, seldom making mistakes with his passes or reading of the game. An underrated nugget of information surrounding the Club World Cup is the fact the Brazilian has yet to win this competition. Similar to Cesar Azpilicueta, a win on Saturday would be the cherry on top of an excellent career.
Antonio Rudiger (Left centerback): 7/10
On a day where Chelsea returned to a back three and his centerback partners were excellent, Antonio Rudiger was the definition of average. Perhaps that’s a bit harsh to say about the German, but on that same note, it’s fair to expect the absolute most out of a man who hasn’t put a foot wrong in the last 12 months. It was a decent performance from Rudiger, nothing spectacular.
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.
Hakim Ziyech (Right winger): 8.5/10
Hakim Ziyech continued his brilliant run of form on Wednesday with another Man of the Match worthy performance. He ran the show once again on the right wing, despite the Blues reverting back to a 3-4-3. The 4-1-4-1’s introduction has seen him ascend to another level in recent weeks as an extra body in attack allows him some freedom. However, the three-at-the-back experiment against Al Hilal just goes to show how important consistent minutes and a bit of confidence are to the Moroccan. Ziyech has the opportunity to be one of the team’s most important players down the stretch. If he continues to build chemistry with those around him, the sky is the limit.
Romelu Lukaku (Striker): 7/10
Lukaku frustrated fans from the off. To be fair to the Belgian, those supporters were likely moaning about his inclusion in the team to begin with, so their minds were already made up. His game was sloppy in the opening 30 minutes as he failed to dominate the Al Hilal defense. Something many expected him to do with ease. Lukaku missed a tap in or two and he took up the wrong position in the box on numerous occasions.
Things changed when he finally found the back of the net though.
Following his 32′ goal—one in which he is expected to score 10 times out of 10—Lukaku looked like a completely different player. He seemed to be a changed man who was free of his shackles in the final third. The Blues’ talisman became more involved in the build-up and he moved more freely around the pitch. Perhaps the most impressive contribution of his on Wednesday though was his link-up play with Ziyech. The two had been seen feuding a few matches ago (one of the many incidents supporters made into an unnecessarily large scene), but they were unselfishly playing together against Al Hilal. The duo looks to have caught Tuchel’s eye, so it’s going to be important that they develop a greater understanding for one another as the season progresses.
Kai Havertz (Left winger): 7/10
Havertz looked a bit rusty to start the game. He seemed afraid to take defenders on or take any risks at all with the ball at his feet. This is understandable as the German hasn’t gotten many minutes throughout the season. Havertz, like Lukaku, did grow into the game as it went on. His brilliant run to start the second half would’ve instantly become a goal of the season contender if he’d beaten the keeper. There is also something intriguing about his relationship with Lukaku. Four of the Belgian’s nine goals this season have come when Havertz is on the pitch and there is certainly something to be said for that going forward.
N’Golo Kante (Central midfielder): 6/10
Kante was introduced at halftime after Jorginho failed to find his footing in the match. The Frenchman is in the same boat as Havertz lately as they both have struggled for minutes following injuries and bouts with COVID-19. His insertion into midfield was supposed to help Chelsea gain more control in the game while still chasing a second goal. It goes without saying, that second goal never came and the Blues actually lost control the longer the contest dragged on.
Truth be told, Kante didn’t cover himself in glory on the night. He performed his usual duty of running the length of the pitch to make recoveries at times but he looked flustered going forward. Kante did kick off a beautiful goalscoring chance with a moment of individual brilliance. However, he also contributed to a few of Al Hilal’s best chances toward the end of the bout.
Mason Mount (Right winger): 6/10
Mason Mount’s inclusion was more desperate than anything else. It would’ve been nice to keep the Englishman on the bench after he picked up a knock against Plymouth. However, Thomas Tuchel’s staff was seemingly out of ideas and when the team needs a goal, there is nobody better to bring on than Mount. Still, he looked relatively awkward on the right wing as he never really assumed the narrow role he usually does in a 3-4-3. He ventured around on the touchline where he was being given acres of space. It’ll be nice to hopefully have Mount back at 100 percent on Saturday when he can impact the game from the opening whistle.
Malang Sarr (Left wingback): N/A
Malang Sarr replaced Alonso for the final few minutes and he played quite well, all things considered. In the end though, he wasn’t on the pitch long enough to earn a proper rating.
Arno Michels (Manager): 6.5/10
It needs to be said that few—if any—of the decisions made throughout this game came from the mind of Arno Michels. Michels has simply just been the step-in manager for Tuchel while the German gaffer battles COVID-19. It seems relatively unfair to give him this poor of a rating. The reality of the situation is that I, as the author of this piece, have the benefit of hindsight.
Kante for Jorginho seemed like a decent idea at the time, it was just a disaster in practice. Michels then waited until the 72′ to try and fix things. His solution to dealing with an unstable midfield that was being pressed like there’s no tomorrow? Introducing Mount to play on the wing. The Sarr substitution could’ve also taken place a lot sooner too. Overall, the gameplan from the staff was shaky in the grand scheme of things and that began with the decision to revert to the 3-4-3. Let’s just hope Tuchel is back on the touchline on Saturday and the Blues do enough to lift the trophy.
What ratings would you give each player? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!