Michy Batshuayi scored a hat-trick and Charly Musonda netted on his full Chelsea debut as they easily progressed to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup. Here’s how we rated each Blues player in the 5-1 thrashing of Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge.
He made a couple of regulation saves and didn’t have a great deal to do, but was not entirely convincing before finally being beaten in injury-time.
Rudiger made a couple of vital defensive blocks in the first half in a performance full of pace and power. He was also a consistent attacking force and made telling contributions for two of Chelsea’s goals.
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The Danish defender gave another mature showing as the middle man in the defensive three. He played with calmness and authority throughout, with the only blemish being one risky first-half backpass that went out for a corner.
Chelsea’s captain was solid and dependable and looks to be regaining his sharpness after missing three games following his red card against Burnley.
Made several intelligent runs – particularly in the first half – and remained a serious attacking threat throughout. He defended sensibly and without fuss and already seems at home in his new surroundings.
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To simply praise him for a performance full of pace, power and athleticism would be doing the Frenchman a huge disservice. Bakayoko displayed all those qualities during an imposing 90 minutes, but also showed he can read the game, has fine awareness and good passing ability.
Fabregas brought a touch of class to proceedings, having a hand in all three first-half goals and setting up numerous other chances, including a glorious ball over the top which should have led to a second goal for Musonda.
The Brazilian made a spectacular impact on his return to the Chelsea first team following his indiscretions on the tour to China. Kenedy scored with a beautifully-taken opener and could easily have ended up with a hat-trick. There is still a question mark about his defending though.
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The 20-year-old made as good a full debut as you could wish to have, scoring a fine goal to make it 3-0 and showing his considerable dribbling ability as well as commendable tactical nous. He looked a more than capable back-up to Eden Hazard, Pedro and Willian.
Hazard’s first Blues start of the season was most welcome and he did not disappoint, despite, clearly not being at his very best. He set up Batshuayi’s first two goals, hit the post with a fine curling shot and showed typical strength and composure on the ball. Encouragingly, the Belgian playmaker still looked strong in the closing stages.
Bizarrely, Batshuayi had a relatively quiet game, but showed his eye for goal with two tidy finishes and a fortuitous third – when he was in the right place at the right time – to complete his hat-trick. His hold-up play is still an issue though.
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An impressive debut by the 17-year-old, who showed no fear. He won a couple of crunching challenges, played one exceptional pass with the outside of his foot and was generally neat and tidy in possession.
Clarke-Salter did not look overawed after replacing Andreas Christensen for his second Chelsea appearance.
A steady 15 minutes on his first Blues appearance, although it was difficult to make a strong impression with the game already won and becoming increasingly stretched.