Rennes v Chelsea player ratings
Chelsea ensured qualification from Group E of the Champions League with a last-gasp win over Rennes. Here’s how we rated each Blues player in the 2-1 victory in France.
Edouard Mendy: 7
He made a couple of relatively straightforward first-half saves and made a fine reaction stop from a near-post header from a corner after the break. He had no chance with the late header that meant he failed to keep what would have been his eighth clean sheet in 10 games.
Cesar Azpilicueta: 7
Back in the side as if he had never been away, Chelsea’s captain patrolled the right flank in his usual assured manner and won several vital tackles when called into action during spells of sustained Rennes pressure.
Kurt Zouma: 7
Another confident performance from Zouma, whose pace and strength give him such a get-out clause. He used to need that option plenty but his improved positional play meant neither was really needed on this occasion.
Thiago Silva: 7
Economical in possession and always in control, Silva organised and led by example when defending and was also quick to move forward when the opportunity arose, but he seemed to be as culpable as anyone for the late equaliser from the corner.
Ben Chilwell: 6
Chilwell was not able to make many forays forward and was fortunate to get away with a couple of very – albeit uncharacteristic – sloppy moments in the opening 45 minutes but was faultless after the break. However, he should have scored with a late header from Hakim Ziyech’s free-kick.
Jorginho: 6
He clearly tried to keep the tempo high early on and succeeded as Chelsea dominated, but he struggled to have much of an influence thereafter.
Mateo Kovacic: 6
Like Jorginho, Kovacic could not take control of the midfield but did plenty of good defensive work protecting his back four.
Mason Mount: 8
The standout player, both technically and in terms of work-rate. That was perfectly illustrated by his tenacity in winning the ball and picking a pass for Callum Hudson-Odoi’s first-half goal. He was desperately unfortunate not to score with an instinctive strike that brought a fabulous save from Alfred Gomis.
Callum-Hudson-Odoi: 7
The England winger seized his opportunity on just his fourth club start of the season. He set up a glorious early chance for Timo Werner with a delightful right-wing cross and took his goal with real poise and confidence.
Timo Werner: 6
Werner missed an absolute sitter inside four minutes and did not look convincing in front of goal with the chance before Olivier Giroud’s winner. He was guilty of a couple of rushed, misplaced passes. But his pace and direct running troubled the home defence throughout.
Tammy Abraham: 8
He played with a swagger, leading the line, threatening in behind and making several vital defensive clearances from set-pieces, but barely got a sight of goal.
N’Golo Kante: 7
Helped bring stability and more energy to the midfield after coming on. His presence was missed in the middle of the park.
Olivier Giroud: 7
Giroud did not see much of the ball but his hold-up play and was as reliable as ever – and then he did magnificently to win the game with a grand injury-time header.
Hakim Ziyech: 8
Lively in his late cameo, Ziyech was clearly being saved for Sunday’s huge game against Tottenham but came on to great effect, causing panic and teeing up two great chances, one of which led to Giroud’s winner.
Kai Havertz: 5
A very quiet return for the German, who was tidy enough but made little impression during just over 15 minutes on the pitch.
