Chelsea 0-1 Manchester City: Player Ratings as Pep's men have their revenge in the Champions League Final replay | Premier League 2021-22
Manchester City got revenge for the Champions League final as they beat the Champions of Europe, Chelsea, in the latter's own backyard in the Premier League on Saturday. Gabriel Jesus' deflected effort was the only goal that separated the two sides in the Premier League clash this Saturday.
In the process, Pep Guardiola broke his hoodoo against Thomas Tuchel as the City coach managed the game very well to hand the Blues their first defeat of the season, and their first loss in 12 games continuing from the previous season. The reigning champions now sit atop the Premier League table with 13 points from six games.
FULL-TIME | BIG win! ✅
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Meanwhile, Chelsea will have to settle for third place for the weekend after their title challenge hit a big roadblock at Stamford Bridge. But that would be the least of Tuchel and Co.'s worries, as this was a really unusual performance by the Blues on Saturday. With not a single shot on target after being handed just 40% of possession by their opponents, City keeper Ederson was not disturbed even once by the hosts.
Without much ado, let's dive straight into the player ratings from the game, starting with Tuchel's Chelsea.
Chelsea Player Ratings
Edouard Mendy - 7/10
The Senegalese international denied two beautiful Jack Grealish efforts to keep Chelsea in the game, right until the end of normal time. Without the stopper's appreciable saves, the Blues would have been down by even three goals to nil. However, his distribution in the first half did attract some criticism.
Cesar Azpilicueta - 6/10
The Chelsea captain initially started the game in the right centre-back role, but shifted to the right wing-back position after Reece James' injury. But the Spaniard did not look like his usual self, rarely contributing to the attack of the team in the first half. The second half saw some good crosses by Azpilicueta into the box, but they were wasted by the forwards.
Andreas Christensen - 7/10
Christensen was by far the most solid defender in Chelsea's back-line this evening. He won three of his four aerial duels, made four clearances and even had three interceptions, two of which broke City's counter too. On the offensive front, the Dane also supplied the Chelsea forwards with four successful long balls, from his total of six attempts.
Antonio Rudiger - 5/10
After back-to-back strong performances in the Premier League, Rudiger had a day to forget in the office today. The German was beaten for pace almost every time he went head-to-head with City's attackers and even got booked for one of his nasty challenges by Michael Oliver in the second half. For the record, he won none of his ground duels contested (4) on the evening.
Reece James - 5/10
The England international had to be taken off in the 29th minute due to a knock he picked in the early exchanges of the game. Before his substitution, he was rarely involved in attacking play and was not at his vibrant best in the defensive aspects either - which was very unlike him in a Chelsea shirt.
N'Golo Kante - 6.5/10
Kante, being his usual self, won every second ball of the evening and saved the Blues the blushes many a times. The only thing the Frenchman lacked in the game was attacking flair, which was non-existent, all thanks to the omnipresent City press in every third.
Jorginho - 5.5/10
The UEFA Player of the Year had a usual day in the middle of the park, controlling Chelsea's pace and spraying passes around the pitch. But at times he was caught off-guard by the pressing City players and miscued his passes in response. The Italian's deflection was the last touch too before Gabriel Jesus' shot went in to give City the lead.
Kovacic - 7/10
If there was any player who created some magic for the frustrated Stamford Bridge audience, it was the Croatian signed from Madrid. Kovacic made great progressive runs, dribbling through the City midfielders many times during the game. He also gave it his all, in defending the middle third too, winning 7 of his 10 ground duels in amazing spirit.
Marcos Alonso - 5/10
The left-back, who has retained his place in Thomas Tuchel's starting eleven over Ben Chilwell, was wasteful in the one and only attribute that makes him one of the best wing-backs in the game - his creativity. With not a single cross or long ball completed on Saturday afternoon, he had one of the worst passing success rates of the evening among both sides.
Romelu Lukaku - 6/10
The Belgian striker, who made Chelsea break their bank this summer, was not his usual self for almost the first eighty minutes of the game. His only impact came in the dying moments of the second half, when he attracted fouls from both City centre-backs and gave Chelsea some hope of scoring from set-pieces. He won all of his ground duels, but did not have a single good shot on target, let alone scoring a goal.
Timo Werner - 5.5/10
Werner's weak run of form in the Premier League continues as the German was nowhere close to being dangerous on the evening. He dropped deep to collect the ball as Lukaku stayed atop, but lacked the pace and agility to run at the City defense. He did have some dribbles on the night, but was brushed off by City's backline easily.
Substitutes:
Second switch.
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Thiago Silva: 7/10
After replacing Reece James in the lineup, the Brazilian veteran had a very calm and composed game despite City piling on the pressure every couple of minutes. He even cleared a Gabriel Jesus effort off the line in the second half and kept the scoreline unchanged. The defender, who turned 37 this past week, was a leader in his stride on the pitch this evening.
Kai Havertz - 6/10
Havertz was welcomed by a roar at Stamford Bridge when he came on, in acknowledgement of his Champions League winning goal against this very opposition. But he hardly had any impact over the game. Despite dropping deeper many a times, the German had just 7 touches in 30 minutes of playing time.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek - 6.5/10
It was a surprising change from Thomas Tuchel as he handed some playing time to the Chelsea academy graduate, who hadn't played for them for over a year now. But Loftus-Cheek looked sharp, strong and full of intent. Pundits would have agreed that he would have made the difference if he had come on earlier in the game at half-time.
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