Chelsea 1-3 Real Madrid player ratings: Benzema runs rampant

Hakim Ziyech (Right winger): 4/10

Hakim Ziyech came on in the second half, replacing Kante, when the Blues were already 2-1 down. Chelsea gained nothing by keeping Ziyech on the bench for the first 45 minutes of the match. He was largely ignored on the right flank where he tried several times to put himself in space ready to receive a switch of play. That switch hardly ever came though.

In fact, Ziyech had to drift over to get some of the ball at all. Chelsea focused on building up from the left side of the pitch, so even when Ziyech was sometimes the simple and more sensible option, players still preferred to carry the ball across the pitch to pass to someone on the right. Chelsea’s only goal came from building up from the right-hand side and the Blues still tried,  before and after the goal, to build up from the left. It’s like the players’ brains were not functioning.

Mateo Kovacic (Central midfielder): 2/10

Mateo Kovacic tried to do everything he was expected to do, or at least some of it anyway. He was quite poor for someone who played a whole 45 minutes. He did nothing of note—nothing.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Central midfielder): 4.5/10

Ruben Loftus-Cheek generally played well, though he over-dribbled at several points and lost concentration several times. Chelsea lost another midfield battle and unfortunately, Loftus-Cheek cannot be exonerated from this.

Romelu Lukaku (Striker): 4/10

Chelsea had no reason to start Lukaku on the bench in a game of this magnitude. No one can argue that Havertz deserves to start all the games he has been starting. However, some of the players starting over him shouldn’t be. Timo Werner and Pulisic should, under no circumstances, be starting over Lukaku in this current run of form. The Belgian did miss a couple of good looks in front of goal that could’ve changed the tie though.

Thomas Tuchel (Manager): 4/10

In the past few weeks, Tuchel has continuously started players that shouldn’t have started, and that’s why some of Tuchel’s problems are self-inflicted. He had the right idea to start, but he also deserves credit for responding quickly when he saw things weren’t working.

What rating would you give to each player on the evening? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter!