Chelsea 1-0 West Ham player ratings: Christian Pulisic saves the day
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Right wingback): 7/10
Ruben Loftus-Cheek wasn’t great at right wingback on Sunday. He played the role like he was playing central midfield. He didn’t overlap, thereby creating no width, which defeated the very purpose of the wingback role and system. His tendency to cut inside whenever he had the ball meant that he often dribbled into the central areas of the pitch only to make a square pass. His performance was not bad, he just didn’t play the role the right way, which is not his fault as he’s not a wingback. Hell, many wingbacks don’t play the role the right way.
Jorginho (Central midfielder): 7/10
I’ve mentioned that Jorginho’s penalty technique is risky and ends up having no power. His penalty routine relies on the goalkeeper losing the battle of wills and moving before he (Jorginho) strikes the ball. Jorginho’s hop means he can’t get that much power on the ball in his penalties. Goalkeepers including Jordan Pickford, Alisson Becker, Ederson and Yann Sommer have all saved his penalties after standing their ground and waiting for the ball to be struck.
“Oh yeah? Well if it’s that easy why don’t all goalkeepers just stand then? huh?!!” this is because keepers aren’t trained to wait for the ball to be struck before diving, as this would leave them at a disadvantage in nine scenarios out of 10. Jorginho’s penalty technique is popular enough though that you can expect even more of his penalties to be saved if he continues that hopping routine. Overall, Jorginho didn’t have a bad game though. In fact, he was quite good.
N’Golo Kante (Central midfielder): 7/10
N’Golo Kante was better than he has been in his last few games. He won most of his duels and his passing was very good. His decision-making was often questionable though.
Marcos Alonso (Left wingback): 7.5/10
Marcos Alonso had a solid game. Capped off with his pinpoint cross to the perfect spot in the area where Christian Pulisic was standing, unmarked, waiting for the ball.