Chelsea’s new era under Graham Potter finally came to a start as the West London side
welcomed Austrian champions, RB Salzburg to Stamford Bridge for their second group stage
game of the Champions League.
The new CFC manager started with the formation of 4-2-3-1 but during the game, it was clear to see that team was changing their shape and also played with three at the back at times. In the first half, you could see a difference in the team as they played with high intensity and showed a sense of urgency when it came to winning second balls. But the same problems were ever present as the Blues had the majority of the possession and chances but failed to finish them. But the second half started in the best way possible as Raheem Sterling curled his effort beautifully to give the hosts the lead.
It seemed that after the lead the hosts started to sit back a bit and eventually became the
architects of their downfall as defensive mistakes from Thiago Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta
helped RB Salzburg equalize in the 75th minute. After that Potter gave his all and introduced
all of the attacking options from the bench but the game ended as a draw with
chances to progress to the next round seeming to be slim. Here’s how each Chelsea player fared in another disappointing result in Europe:
Chelsea player ratings
1. Kepa Arrizabalaga (Goalkeeper): 6/10
The Spaniard international started his second game in a row due to the injury of
Edouard Mendy and had a quiet first half but when called into action made a brilliant
save from Benjamin Sesko’s effort. In the second half, Kepa was barely called into action but
horrible defending from Thiago Silva and Azpilicueta meant that he couldn’t keep a
clean sheet.
2. Reece James (Right Back): 7/10
Reece James started the game very quietly but grew into the game as it progressed.
The English international was heavily involved in the attacking side of the game and
put in quite a few good crosses into the box. After conceding, the whole team was frustrated and that caused Reece James to pick up an unnecessary yellow card.
3. Thiago Silva (Centerback): 6/10
By far one of the best defenders in this generation, the veteran again showed his
class on the pitch making brilliant tackles and interceptions. But his only mistake cost
the team the game it feels after the Brazilian was caught out while tackling Junior
Adamu in the build-up to the Salzburg goal.
4. Cesar Azpilicueta (Centerback): 6/10
Cesar Azpilicueta was caught out quite a few times due to his lack of pace but the
Chelsea captain was still able to provide the defense with some stability. But for the equalizer, along with Thiago Silva, the failure of Azpilicueta to track the run of Noah Okafor cost Chelsea much-needed two points.
5. Marc Cucurella (Left Back): 7/10
The man most familiar with Chelsea’s new manager looked to be the most involved
player in the game. Starting as a full-back, Cucurella was regularly seen playing as a
left-sided centerback in the game. Seeing this performance, it feels like Cucurella
will be very pivotal to Potter’s system.
6. Jorginho (Central Midfielder): 6.5/10
Jorginho had a different energy to his game today but mostly played sideward
passes. Maybe a bit of forwarding passing is what the Italian international should
attempt to do as he is more than capable of doing it. Overall, controlled the game
well.
7. Mateo Kovacic (Central Midfielder): 7/10
The Croatian international looked very energetic from the get-go and stuck in tackles
which were good to see. It seemed as if Kovacic was told to attack further into the
opponent’s half and his attacking play looked very encouraging. He did lose the ball a
few times when in possession but an encouraging outing going forward.
8. Kai Havertz (Attacking Midfielder): 5/10
Kai Havertz made his 100th appearance for Chelsea this game but didn’t have a great
outing as he couldn’t influence the game much. The German international showed
glimpses of good one-touch play sometimes but lacked that clinical edge in his game.
Another disappointing outing from the German.
9. Mason Mount (Right Winger): 6.5/10
Mason Mount played an advanced role today but found himself very deep in his half
majorly in the first half, doing great defensive work. His overall performance today
was a lot better than the English international has been performing before and could
have even scored the goal in the game only to put his effort on the goalpost.
10. Pierre Emerick Aubameyang (Striker): 5.5/10
Just like Kai Havertz, Aubameyang couldn’t influence the game much even though
the Gabon international got into goal-scoring positions. A few opportunities did
emerge for the striker, but he couldn’t take them. But Aubameyang got a strong
reception from the home fans after being substituted.
11. Raheem Sterling (Left Winger): 9/10
Raheem Sterling playing on the wing was hugging the line in this system looked ever
more dangerous to the opponent’s defense as that afforded him more space. The
England international was again the best-attacking player for Chelsea on the pitch and scored the goal with a beautifully curled effort. Sterling could also have finished again, but was unfortunately overthinking decisions when in the opponent’s box.
12. Armando Broja (Striker): 7/10
Armando Broja came on for Pierre Emerick Aubameyang in the 66 th minute and from
the get-go was involved in the attacking play making darting runs through the
Salzburg defense. Broja could have been the hero for the night but missed a great
chance in the box to win Chelsea the game, shooting his effort high and wide in the
stoppage time.
13. Ruben Loftus Cheek (Attacking Midfielder): 6/10
Ruben Loftus Cheek came on for Kai Havertz in the 66 th minute and was instructed to
play behind Broja and did well to influence the by using his physicality to hold up the
ball and draw in fouls.
14. Connor Gallagher (Central Midfielder): 6/10
Connor Gallagher came on for Mateo Kovacic in the 81 st minute and progressed the
ball forward well whenever given the chance and tried to be involved in the game
but couldn’t influence the game much.
15. Hakim Ziyech (Right Winger): 6/10
Hakim Ziyech came on for Cesar Azpilicueta in the 82 nd minute and was instantly
involved in the game, coming ever so close to giving CFC the lead from his first
touch only for the goalkeeper to make a good save. Ziyech was heavily involved in
the dying minutes of the game but was very wasteful when given the chance to
finish the game off.
16. Christian Pulisic (Left Winger): 5/10
Christian Pulisic came on for Raheem Sterling in the 84 th minute and barely had any
impact on the game.