Chelsea welcomed Nottingham Forest to Stamford Bridge for an interesting Premier League clash, not least because the last time these two met, Forest walked away 2-0 winners. The Blues were intent on revenge, but alas, revenge was not to be meted out, as Anthony Elanga finished off Forest’s best chance of the game by slotting it past Robert Sanchez. Here is how The Pride of London rates the performances of the players and manager:
Robert Sanchez: 6/10
Sanchez was insufficient on the away goal. It was a big chance and Anthony Elanga had a lot of time to pick his spot, but the Spaniard did not make it difficult for Elanga at all. He’s staying rooted to the spot meant that even if the ex-Manchester United man’s shot did not have much power, it was still effective. Some other CFC players have more responsibility for that goal than Sanchez though.
Axel Disasi: 7/10
Disasi won all except one duel he contested. According to Sofascore, he won 7/8 contested duels, in addition to his superb reading and ball distribution. He completed 94% of his passes.
Thiago Silva: 6/10
Silva lost some key duels that led to some good scoring opportunities for the away side. He particularly had a hard time against Taiwo Awoniyi. He also got easily bypasses – again – for the goal the Blues conceded. This is not to say he was the only one at fault for that goal, but he didn’t help.
Levi Colwill: 6/10
Colwill wasn’t great. He won 1/4 ground duels and his distribution was really poor. He completed 3/6 long balls, which is good, but only managed to complete 82% of his passes, which is quite poor. This may be because he was practically playing as a left back, and his been since the beginning of the season. Duels lost as a centerback means pressure for your teammates.
Malo Gusto: 6.5/10
Gusto was not great, though he wasn’t particularly poor either. He won 4/9 duels, and completed 88% of his 69 passes. He won 3/4 of his tackles and completed 1/2 take-ons.
Conor Gallagher: 7.5/10
Gallagher was good. Very good. It must be mentioned that Pochettino’s decision to play Gallagher much deeper than Enzo Fernandez is one that’s hard to explain. Gallagher has been good in his role, but the Englishman has always found himself in the final third linking up with the forward, highlighting the fact that he’s supposed to be further forward.
Moises Caicedo: 6/10
Caicedo would have gotten a better rating if not for the role he played in the only goal that was scored in the game. He played a key role too. It was his error that started forest’s counterattack that ultimately led to Elanga’s game winning goal. Other than that he was actually good, winning 6/7 duels in total and 5/6 ground duels. he also won 3/3 tackles and completed 90% of his passes and 75% of his long balls.
Ben Chilwell: 5/10
The Chelsea on-pitch captain was definitely busy, as he contested 15 duels in total, winning seven. His passing was quite poor though, as he only completed 8/18 passes while he was on the pitch (44%), despite only attempting one long ball. This constant turnover put the Blues under pressure.
Raheem Sterling: 5/10
Sterling was poor. His shooting was off, his dribbles didn’t come off, as he completed 0/2 on the day. He didn’t offer much defensively either.
Enzo Fernandez: 7/10
Fernandez has taken on the role of chief creator for Chelsea this season and he has performed well. He has created two big chances for the Blues this season, no one has created more. He has also created 2.8 chances per game. In addition to this, he has completed the most progressive passes, the most passes into the final third and the second most passes into the penalty area. Against Forest, he created a clear cut chance, and should have had an assist if Jackson was able to sort out his feet in time.
Nicolas Jackson: 4/10
Jackson was poor. He got on the end of Chelsea’s best chances of the game, and he missed both. In fact, the former Villareal striker has gathered 2.0 non-penalty expected goals (npxG) this season already, for context, Manchester City’s Erling Haaland has gathered 2.3, all these as at August 31, 2023. Jackson has one goal, and Haaland has three. Jackson’s wastefulness is underpinned by the fact that he has missed the most big chances this season.
Cole Palmer (62′): 6/10
For a 21-year-old Chelsea debutant, he did OK. His dribbling was sharp and he got into many duels, which is a good away to have a positive impact on the game without having the ball.
Ian Maatsen (77′): 6/10
Maatsen was OK in the 13 minutes he played. He kept the ball and contested some duels, but nothing noteworthy.
Noni Madueke (62′): 6/10
The Forest game showed succinctly that Madueke needs to improve his decision making in the final third. He often makes one too many dribbles and doesn’t cross often. His dribbles were not coming off, and he refused to cross it, so he turned out to be of little use to Chelsea.
Mykhailo Mudryk (77′): 4/10
Nothing Mudryk did came off. He completed 0/4 crosses, 0/1 dribbles, and 0/2 ground duels.
Mauricio Pochettino, Chelsea boss: 8/10
There’s not much more Pochettino could’ve done on the day. He sent out Chelsea’s best team in a home game against Nottingham Forest, so if the team returned without the three points, the questions have to be asked of the players this time around. His subs didn’t really impact the game.