Chelsea player ratings from their 0-1 victory over Crystal Palace | Premier League 2018-19
Chelsea won the last game of the year only by a whisker. The Blues started positively right from the start and kept the possession for most of the time in the first half. Chelsea did not make the most of their possession and only had one shot on the target in the first 45 minutes.
Maurizio Sarris's men were gifted for their hard work with just six minutes into the second half through a neat goal by N'Golo Kante. With this win, Chelsea are two points behind Spurs and five ahead of fifth-placed Arsenal in the Premier League table.
Let's take a look at the ratings of Chelsea players from their 1-0 win over Crystal Palace:
Kepa Arrizabalaga - 5/10
Crystal Palace failed to force off even a single save from the Chelsea keeper. Palace players didn't pose any threat to Kepa. The Spanish shot-stopper didn't have much work to do throughout the game.
Marcos Alonso- 5/10
Alonso did not live up to what is expected from him. He had a passing accuracy of only 54 percent. The Spanish left-back was booked after he punched the ball in frustration as he could not control a pass from David Luiz.
David Luiz - 7/10
The Brazilian provided an amazing assist to Kante across the top of Crystal Palace defenders. Defensively, the centre back only had to deal with the opponents in the closing minutes of the game. He was the best Chelsea player on the night
Antonio Rudiger - 6/10
The German lived up to his expectations and blocked a number of goalscoring opportunities which could have prohibited Chelsea from achieving a much-required win.
Cesar Azpilicueta- 4/10
He had a night to forget and failed to create goalscoring opportunities from the right flank. Spaniard needs to bring his best qualities to make Chelsea winning games smoothly again.
Ross Barkley - 5.5/10
The midfielder impressed in his first start this season for the Blues. Barkley's unorthodox overhead kick hit the post which could have been the contender for the Goal of the Season.
Jorginho - 6/10
Jorginho had a game-high 179 touches in the match, 106 more than Crystal Palace's player with the most touches (Patrick van Aanholt - 73). Most of the passes from him were accurate but failed to provide any assist.
N'Golo Kante - 8/10
The Frenchmen scored his third goal of the season. He broke the deadlock in the second half which was a result of amazing ball control and easy finish.
Eden Hazard - 7/10
The Belgian midfielder made a number of runs past defenders with his blistering pace and dribbling ability but was not able to put his name on the scoresheet.
Olivier Giroud - 5/10
Chelsea's search for a striker that could give them goals is still incomplete. Giroud had a ball in the net two times but unfortunately was ruled offside on both occasions.
Willian - 8/10
Though he didn't get the goal, he forced the Palace goalkeeper to pull off a brilliant save in the first half from a free kick. Palace's defenders were finding it difficult to deal with Willian's movement. He had a decent night overall.
Substitutes
Morata - 5/10
The striker was only played because Giroud was forced off with an injury. He should have scored the second goal for Chelsea when he got into one vs one situation in the closing minutes of the game.
Emerson & Kovacic - N/A
Both came on very late in the game and were only substituted for time wasting.