Chelsea 1-0 West Ham player ratings: Christian Pulisic saves the day

Chelsea got away with poor performance as it welcomed West Ham United to Stamford Bridge in a crucial game. Thomas Tuchel tried to rotate and gave Trevoh Chalobah a start, but it was obvious Chalobah had not played a game of football in a while. The defenders were the best performers, but the forwards were painfully underwhelming. It took a triple substitution in the 76′ for things to begin to look even a little bit lively from the home side. Poor decision-making and slow, lethargic passing was the theme of the day. Nevertheless, a win is a win.

Here’s how The Pride of London believes the players performed individually:

Edouard Mendy (Goalkeeper): 7.5/10

Edouard Mendy was superb. He allowed every shot on target to score against Arsenal, but against West Ham, he saved every shot on target. Mendy recorded another well-deserved clean sheet. His distribution was also superb.

Cesar Azpilicueta (Right centerback): 7/10

Cesar Azpilicueta made some potentially costly errors in the early stages of the match but he generally did well otherwise. It’s important to note that, had Chelsea played against more dangerous opponents, those mistakes would have cost the Blues. Azpilicueta picked up in the second half though as he won four out of his six duels. He also had the joint-highest number of long balls completed in the team, and by far the highest proportion of long balls completed.

Thiago Silva (Centerback): 7.5/10

Thiago Silva was solid as usual. He made more defensive actions than his two centerback partners. He was solid on the ball, helping Chelsea recycle possession and play out quite frequently. Silva even made a superb run through the midfield and took a shot that everyone hoped would go in for several reasons.

Trevoh Chalobah (Left centerback): 7/10

Chalobah nearly dribbled his way into trouble. Chelsea was only saved by a sluggish West Ham attack. He lost most of his duels, but not an overwhelming majority. Chalobah had an overall good game, despite looking iffy early on as he attempted to shake off the rust.