Chelsea suffered a shocking 4-1 home defeat to Brentford on Saturday as supporters protested against the Ricketts family outside Stamford Bridge. Overall, it was a really shocking loss after the Blues went ahead in the opening minutes of the second half. The Bees responded with three goals in quick succession to fire themselves ahead, a lead they’d hold onto for the remainder of the match. Chelsea dropped just its fifth game in all competitions as Thomas Frank’s men left SW6 with all three points.
Here is how each player fared for the Blues in their disheartening defeat to Brentford:
Edouard Mendy (Goalkeeper): 6/10
The Senegalese international started very sluggishly, gifting Ivan Toney a chance on goal with a poor pass out in the opening moments of the game. Edouard Mendy also required treatment on a knee injury in the opening period, but he was still able to continue. After the break, he was scored on three times in quick succession as he was unusually exposed by the defence in front of him. A day to forget for the excellent goalkeeper as the Bees found the back of the net four times.
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Cesar Azpilicueta (Right back): 6/10
Cesar Azpilicueta started in the right back position against Brentford. The Chelsea captain was more reserved throughout as a result. He did not make many attacking runs and when he did overlap, Hakim Ziyech rarely passed the ball to him. Azpilicueta dropped to the right of a back three late on and he looked more comfortable, but the match was already given away by then.
Thiago Silva (Centerback): 5/10
Thiago Silva was looking very uncomfortable throughout, a very rare trait from the Brazilian ace. Brentford’s front two of Bryan Mbeumo and Toney kept him on his toes, constantly dragging him out of position both in a back three and back four. Silva became more composed when the Blues switched to a back three and he slotted into the center. However, he was really poor overall.
Antonio Rudiger (Centerback): 5/10
After a missed first half strike from Antonio Rudiger, the German centerback left spectators in awe with a 35-yard drive that found the back of the net. 12 minutes later, Brentford had found the back of the net three times as the Bees gave Rudiger no time to enjoy his world class goal. He was guilty of causing the third and fourth as a failed clearance landed in the path of Yoane Wisse for the latter. Rudiger—compared to what we are used to seeing from him—was clearly having an off day at the office..
Marcos Alonso (Left back): 4/10
Marcos Alonso started the game for just two reasons: his height and attacking prowess. He didn’t provide any positive play in either regard. The Spaniard was terrible in one-on-one situations as he attacked down the left flank, attacks seemingly always broke down whenever he tried to get forward. The veteran will need to step up his game going forward with Ben Chilwell still sidelined for the remainder of the campaign.
Ruben Loftus Cheek (Central midfielder): 6/10
Ruben Loftus-Cheek was perhaps Chelsea’s best performer in the opening 45 minutes, but he was constantly being played past when he was in the No. 6 position. The Bees exploited these lapses further in the second half with quick strikes in quick succession as they built attacks down his lane through the middle. Loftus-Cheek showed proficiency on the ball, but it just wasn’t enough from the Englishman in a game where he needed to come up big for Thomas Tuchel’s team.
N’Golo Kante (Central midfielder): 4/10
Since the start of 2022, the French international has been somewhat a shadow of his former self, barring his performance against Lille in the Champions League Round of 16 second leg. N’Golo Kante played as a No. 8 for all intents and purposes as he had the freewill to go forward, but that will wasn’t well utilised as the Frenchman was unproductive in the opposition’s final third. Fans will be hoping he can rediscover his form ahead of the Blues’ tie against Real Madrid.
Mason Mount (Attacking midfielder): 5/10
Mason Mount gave Chelsea its first shot on goal in the contest. The academy graduate looked sharp in the opening minutes, but he had nothing going for him from that point onward. The English midfielder made little effort to involve himself either. Mount starting in the Champions League contest against Real Madrid on Wednesday is not a sure thing, but his energy off the ball might prove vital in that contest.
Reece James (Left wingback): 5/10
Reece James was introduced for Alonso halfway through the second half. The Chelsea academy graduate played in the left wingback role before being moved to the right wingback role following a couple of other changes from Tuchel. Overall, the Englishman made no impact in his return.
Mateo Kovacic (Central midfielder): 4/10
Mateo Kovacic had the responsibility of bringing Chelsea back into the game, but he was unable to do so in the end as the mountain proved too big to climb. Not the best performance from Kovacic.
Hakim Ziyech (Right winger): 4/10
Ziyech was seemingly restricted from getting any crosses into the box by the Brentford defence. Therefore, the Moroccan winger spent most of the first half on the touch line crying out for the ball, pleading to get involved in the build up. Ziyech had a little bit of freedom in the second half when he moved unto the left, but he was still poor overall. The Blues will need more from one of their most in-form players if they want any shot at advancing to the UCL semifinals.
Kai Havertz (Striker): 6/10
Kai Havertz started ahead of Romelu Lukaku in the No. 9 role, as he has quite often as of late. He struggled to leave his mark the match. The in-form German had a couple of nice touches here and there in the opening 45- minutes. He did find the back of the net in the second half after Chelsea conceded thrice, but the “goal” was rightly ruled out for handball. Havertz had some chances that unfortunately went just wide as he tried to bring the Blues back in the game late in the second half. It was a real positive performance from him as he tried to up his game after his side went down. A place in the starting XI on Wednesday awaits for Havertz.
Timo Werner (Left winger): 3/10
Making his first Premier League start since December, this might also have been Timo Werner’s last due to how shocking his performance was throughout his entire time on the pitch. The German was poor in positioning during the opening period and nothing changed during the second half. He had a half-chance that was blocked that represented one of the many good passages of play that Werner eventually went on to ruin. One word to describe his day? Pathetic.
Romelu Lukaku (Striker): 5/10
Romelu Lukaku made some beautiful layoffs, but he didn’t have any clear shots on goal.
What ratings would you give each of the players? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter!