Everton 1-0 Chelsea player ratings: Azpilicueta error costs visitors
Reece James (Right wingback): 3/10
Reece James was poor in every facet of the game. Distribution-wise, positioning-wise and creatively. He was so out of position that he was making tackles on the opposite side of the pitch at one point. What was he even doing there? He created just one chance. James completed none of his five crosses. His ball retention was less than stellar, as well. There’s a myth that he’s so much better than Liverpool‘s Trent Alexander-Arnold defensively, it’s a wonder where this myth comes from. Probably from watching the Champions League final on loop.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Central midfielder): 8/10
If Chelsea had more than two Ruben Loftus-Cheek‘s on the pitch on Sunday, it’d have won the game. Loftus-Cheek was impressive, he did everything on both ends of the pitch to make sure the Blues did not embarrass themselves in front of their former manager. Loftus-Cheek won three duels to relieve Chelsea of pressure throughout, and he created one clear-cut chance. The midfielder also won a whopping 13 out of 17 duels—which is insane. Loftus-Cheek was busy and active throughout the match. As someone who has consistently criticized the tall Englishman, I have to give him credit. He completed three dribbles and made seven positive defensive actions.
Jorginho (Central midfielder): 4/10
After the first half, Tuchel could’ve taken off any player and it would have made sense. Jorginho’s performance in the first half wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad either. His passing was very good and he won eight out of 13 duels though. It’s possible that he was substituted off because the Italian led everyone on the pitch in tackles (5), but also in the number of times dribbled past (3).
Marcos Alonso (Left wingback): 6/10
Marcos Alonso was better than many of his colleagues on the day (low bar, I know). He won six out of his eight contested duels, won two fouls and made five defensive actions. No one on the pitch created more chances than Alonso (3) and he completed and attempted more crosses than anyone else. The Spaniard completed double the amount of the player who completed the second-most crosses—he really was sold.