Chelsea conceded late on in a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium. Here’s how we rated each Blues player in their first Premier League fixture of 2018.
The Belgian made an astonishing fingertip reaction save to turn Alexis Sanchez’s effort onto both posts and another stunning first-half stop to keep out Alexandre Lacazette’s low strike. He continued that level of performance after the break and had no chance with either Arsenal goal.
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One uncharacteristic lapse could easily have led to a goal, but was otherwise as reliable as ever.
Two sensational late pieces of last-ditch defending looked like ensuring all three points and capped another composed performance by the Dane.
Won some crucial first-half headers and made numerous brave blocks and challenges. He coped admirably with the trickery and interplay of Arsenal’s impressive front three.
Never seemed convinced he had the beating of his counterpart Ainsley Maitland-Niles and was also too easily beaten on a couple of occasions. It was performance that suggested a lack of confidence.
The big Frenchman was too often caught out of position and caught in two minds. Bakayoko came chasing out from his defensive line to win possession and rarely did so. He was unlucky with shots in either half, but made a mess of a glorious chance from an immaculate Cesc Fabregas pass. The game too often passed him by.
Kante once again got through the work of two men, nipping into win possession throughout and using the ball with very few mistakes or bad decisions.
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The Spaniard was always involved and effective in both areas and his fabulous late burst forward for his goal should have been enough to earn all three points.
Excellent throughout his 70 minutes on the pitch, getting through a tremendous amount of work and spraying defence-splitting passes with typical poise and quality. Fabregas could easily have ended with three or four assists but should have scored in the first half. A ridiculous decision saw the Spaniard given a yellow card late in the first period and that caution was no doubt behind his early substitution.
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Hazard was simply imperious, causing havoc and panic in equal measure. He won and took the penalty and was a constant threat. And one slaloming run and sublime backheel that should have seen Fabregas score was outrageously good and stood out from a super all-round display.
Morata’s hold-up play was mixed and he made a pig’s ear of two wonderful one-one-one opportunities – one in each half. He was more purposeful and dangerous after the interval and was desperately unfortunate not to score after a surging run. But his late miss was woeful – unconvincing and weak.
Came on with in the final quarter of the match and did a more than steady job in an increasingly chaotic derby.
Zappacosta set up Alonso’s goal with a typically positive run and so nearly grabbed the winner with a rasping injury-time strike that smashed of the bar. The Italian is taking his chances when they come and must be close to ousting the below-par Moses from the team.
The Brazilian had little time to make an impression but was solid and did well enough.
This post was last modified on 04/01/2018
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morata 2
coz he did nothing for us