Chelsea responded to their mauling at the hands of Manchester City with a win over Malmo in the Europa League. Here’s how we rated each Blues player in the 2-1 win in the first leg of the last-32 tie in Sweden.
Chelsea’s keeper had little chance with the Malmo goal and was otherwise untroubled against a side whose only real threat came from set-pieces.
Dependable in defence, quick to support in attack and showed no signs of being affected by the disastrous day against City where he was given the runaround.
The Dane had a steady evening but perhaps should have done better when he failed to get across to deal with the breakaway that led to Malmo’s late goal. But he made a vital injury-time intervention to ensure Chelsea did not concede an equaliser.
Flawless at the back, defending without risk and making a goal-saving block in each half, Luiz was equally impeccable in possession – albeit against opposition lacking true quality.
He made a couple of positive runs forward in the first half and defended calmly and sensibly.
Quietly effective, the Italy international kept things ticking over well against a side who afforded him more space than he is used to and he also ensured Pedro and Willian saw plenty of the ball in good areas.
Kovacic had one of his better games of recent times, making a difference in the final third as well as fulfilling his defensive duties.
The England midfielder took his goal well after making a mess of his initial control. Barkley played with confidence in attack but should have scored a second when he shot wildly after Olivier Giroud’s exquisite touch.
Typically busy and involved from start to finish, but his quality on the ball did not always match his work-rate.
Willian had a quiet first half but became increasingly influential as Malmo tired after the break, setting up several decent chances – particularly when showing some nifty footwork for Giroud’s strike.
A trademark, nonchalant back-heel finish capped a more than decent performance that gave Chelsea a focal point. Giroud’s hold-up play and awareness were impressive considering his lack of game time.
Energetic and dangerous after coming on in the final 20 minutes, Hazard looked sharp and in the mood.
Steady after coming on in match that was very stretched in the closing stages.
He was knocked off the ball too easily a couple of times but made one brilliant run that could have teed up a late third Chelsea goal.
This post was last modified on 15/02/2019