Everton 1-0 Chelsea player ratings: Azpilicueta error costs visitors

Mateo Kovacic (Central midfielder): 3/10

Mateo Kovacic was quite easily worse than the man he replaced. He did create two chances and moved the ball very well, but it was hard to notice anyone in that midfield with the way Everton dominated it. Chelsea couldn’t touch the Toffees’ midfield and the fact that Kovacic only contested one duel and made zero positive defensive contributions sums it up.

Christian Pulisic (Left winger): 4/10

Christian Pulisic did what he does best: get into goal-scoring positions. Pulisic should have started this game. He has had some very good games in recent times when he has come off the bench. Tuchel’s selection is supposed to be merit-based, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that that may not be the case at all.

Hakim Ziyech (Right winger): 4/10

Hakim Ziyech did not do much when he came on other than complete all of his passes. None of his crosses connected, and he didn’t make them nearly enough anyway. Ziyech needs to start games. There’s only so much a player can do when he’s brought on as a substitute. The Moroccan has been called upon several times to try to salvage a bad result, but he has been unable to do so due to the lack of minutes given to him in the grand scheme of things. Ziyech was in superb form before he got injured, but even after being fit, he has still not started a game since his injury. It’s almost like he’s being punished for … getting injured?

Thomas Tuchel (Manager): 0/10

Tuchel has sidelined Romelu Lukaku for months now and that decision made sense within the first few weeks of making it. Havertz has stopped scoring now, but he’s still in the squad though, so it’s becoming rather puzzling. Mount is not playing well either and he keeps starting too. Tuchel has made a lot of bad decisions in recent weeks, the more infuriating thing is that he doesn’t seem to be learning any lessons with these poor results.

All match statistics are from SofaScore

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