The game started in the worst possible way for Chelsea as Raheem Sterling had to be taken off due to a hamstring injury in the opening couple of minutes. You could see that the Blues were playing with caution when in possession so chance creation was rare early on but whenever CFC came forward they looked dangerous. But again disaster struck as a last ditch tackle from John Stones caught Christian Pulisic and he too was forced off with injury in the21st minute. From then till half time, Chelsea seemed to be the better side and were almost rewarded but the substitute Carney Chukwuemeka’s effort got deflected and struck the post just before half time.
Manchester City started the second half with a bang and almost scored the first goal as Nathan Ake hit the post with a header from De Bruyne’s delivery. But regular substitutions turned the tidy into the visitor’s favour as Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez combined to give City the lead in the 63rd minute. From then on it seemed that Chels’ would just buckle under yet the introduction of youngsters like Lewis Hall, Omari Hutchinson and Conor Gallagher lifted their spirits. Hall even came close to equalizing in the dying minutes of the game, only to sky his effort wide.
Here’s how each Chelsea player fared in a high tempo match against Manchester City:
1. Kepa Arrizabalaga (Goalkeeper): 6/10
The Spaniard didn’t have much to do in the first half apart from collecting a few crosses and a few shots which were straight at him. But in the second half, Kepa could have done much better for the goal that Chelsea conceded.
2. Marc Cucurella (Left Back): 6/10
Cucurella continued his good form in the first half winning the ball off the opposition on multiple occasions but in the second half it was as if he didn’t want to defend and his bad marking of Maharez meant City took the lead. Cucurella was replced by Lewis Hall in the 68th minute.
3. Thiago Silva (Centerback): 7/10
Thiago Silva again displayed another solid performance despite a Chelsea loss as the Brazilian veteran and his partner Koulibaly kept the dangerous Haaland at bay. He was on top of everything throughout the game but as the game progressed, the Chelsea felt the pressure by City was resulted in the only goal of the game.
4. Kalidou Koulibaly (Centerback): 7/10
Despite again being sloppy with his passing and giving away possession in his own half to a team like Manchester City, Koulibaly was much better today and kept Haaland at bay. Yet the team lost game.
5. Cesar Azpilicueta (Right Back): 7/10
With the Chelsea captain on the verge of 500 appearances for the club, the visitors tried to trouble the Spaniard with their pace but for most parts of the game Azpilicueta dealt with it well. But as the game progressed, it was easy to cut through the Chelsea midfield and the aging defender could only do so much.
6. Denis Zakaria (Defensive Midfielder): 8/10
Denis Zakaria also continued his good form and was again the main source of dominant force in the midfield help the team progress up the pitch in the first half. In the second half too, despite Manchester City’s dominance, Zakaria was the best Chelsea player on the pitch. Dribbling past multiple opponents and progressing the ball forward throughout the game.
7. Mateo Kovacic (Defensive Midfielder): 6/10
The Croatian midfielder throughout the game had many sloppy moments in terms of passing the ball forward but was most of the times aided by his teammates. Kovacic had multipe chances to take a shot but his reluctancy to shoot from out the box is very frustrating.
8. Hakim Ziyech (Right Winger): 6/10
Restored to the starting lineup due to a good World Cup, Ziyech seemed to be the main creative outlet in the first half and played well but lacked that pass in the final third. But in the second half Ziyech was barely effective as City stepped up their game and was replaced by Omari Hutchinson in the 68th minute.
9. Christian Pulisic (Attacking Midfielder): 5/10
With Chelsea being very cautious with possession, attacking play was rare in the opening few minutes but when Chelsea did go into City’s halve they looked dangerous. And in one of those instance, Pulisic came close to scoring only for John Stones to make a last ditch challenge which saved a sure shot goal. But with that tackle Pulisic got injured which forced Chelsea into another change and he was replaced by Chukwumeka in the 21st minute.
10. Raheem Sterling (Left Winger): NA
Barely being involved in the game, Raheem Sterling pulled his hamstring in the opening couple of minutes and was replaced by Aubameyang.
11. Kai Havertz (Striker): 6/10
The German international played the full game and was probably a better striker than Aubameyang despite the Gabon international being a striker primarily. Havertz contested for multiple aerial duels and created the most key passes. It does seem like playing him with youngsters supporting at the wing can be very effective.
12. Pierre Emerick Aubameyang (Striker): 5/10
Aubameyang came on for the injured Sterling in just the 5th minute of the game and gave Chelsea that focal point up front but was barely involved in any aerial duals. He barely gave anything to the team in terms of attacking play and was replaced by Conor Gallagher in the 68th minute.
13. Carney Chukwuemeka (Left Winger): 7/10
Chukwuemeka came on for another injured player, Pulisic in the 21st minute and came the closest to scoring for Chelsea in the first half as his effort struck the post just before half time. In the second half too, Chukwuemeka played very well on the left wing, running with the ball forward and dribbling past defenders. He even put in a great cross but to no avail.
14. Lewis Hall (Left Back): 7/10
Lewis Hall came on for Marc Cucurella in the 68th minute and brought in some much needed energy to the game down the left side of the pitch. Towards the end of the game, the youngster came very close to equalizing for Chelsea only to sky his effort wide.
15. Omari Hutchinson (Right Winger): 6/10
Omari Hutchinson came on for his debut replacing Hakim Ziyech in the 68th minute and was on the ball multiple times trying to put in a cross. From his short cameo it seems that giving the up-and-comer a chance in the next game is valid seeing the long list of injuries we are dealing with.
16. Conor Gallagher (Attacking Midfielder): 6/10
Conor Gallagher came on for Aubameyang in the 68th minute and lifted up the Stamford Bridge spirit with his energetic display in the midfield, acting as a solo presser uo front for the whole team and not shy of making hard tackles. Brought in some much needed energy when everything seemed lost for the Blues.