Chelsea v Arsenal player ratings
Chelsea’s domestic season ended with defeat against Arsenal in the FA Cup final. Here’s how we rated each Blues player in the 2-1 loss at Wembley.
Willy Caballero: 6
The Argentine made a couple of regulation saves and had no chance with Pierre-Emerick Aubamayang‘s penalty and little hope of stopping the striker’s winner.
Cesar Azpilicueta: 5
A nightmare afternoon for the skipper, whose only significant contribution was to give away the first-half penalty which brought the equaliser before his afternoon was abruptly ended by injury. He had struggled defensively before his error but, as ever, his commitment was exemplary.
Kurt Zouma: 6
Zouma was too easily beaten by Aubamayang for the second goal but did make some important tackles in another unconvincing defensive team display.
Antonio Rudiger: 5
There were way too many sloppy moments, with the piece de resistance the rash attempt to win a ball he had little hope of winning in the build-up to the second Arsenal goal.
Reece James:6
Increasingly influential, James played as well as anyone in a Blues shirt, particularly after the break when the change in defensive approach meant he was caught out of position too easily.
Jorginho: 5
Jorginho’s clever pass helped create the early goal but he was unable to influence the match as he would have liked.
Mateo Kovacic: 6
His sending-off for two second yellow cards when simply trying to win possession sums up much of what is wrong with how modern football is officiated. Chelsea’s chances of winning as good as ended when Kovacic was sent off with the Blues trailing.
Marcos Alonso: 5
He had a really poor first 45 minutes and although he improved after the interval and got in plenty of good positions he was unable to make a decisive contribution.
Mason Mount: 6
Mount’s relentless running was a feature of the afternoon, and he was a real threat in the early stages when he should have played in Olivier Giroud rather than shoot. He could not, however, cap a wonderful season with a trophy.
Christian Pulisic: 8
A devastating blow for Chelsea and Pulisic saw the game’s most potent player withdrawn within two minutes of the restart after pulling a hamstring on another dangerous run forward. Incredibly, the scorer of Chelsea’s first-half goal still managed to get a shot away before hitting the turf.
Olivier Giroud: 5
Giroud had a frustrating game despite starting with a wonderful touch and assist for Pulisic’s stunning goal. He was invariably forced to battle in tight areas and cleverly crowded out when trying to bring others into play.
Andreas Christensen: 6
The Dane made a couple of timely tackles and was far more composed than all his fellow centre-backs, although that was not a difficult task. Christensen was dreadfully unlucky for the winner, sliding in to win possession but seeing the ball break kindly for Arsenal.
Pedro: 6
There was to be no fairytale finale for Pedro on his unexpected substitute appearance, but he looked busy and dangerous and as likely as anyone to set up an equaliser before his afternoon was also cruelly ended by injury.
