Chelsea paid the price for a combination of wayward finishing and sloppy defending as they suffered a heavy defeat against Roma. Here’s how we rated each Blues player in the 3-0 defeat in Italy.
Courtois made a couple of fine saves, most notably an incredible reaction stop from Kostas Manolas at 3-0 down. He had no chance with either of Stephan El Shaarawy first-half goals but maybe could have done better with Diego Perotti’s long-range effort.
Rudiger’s terrible error in judgement cost Chelsea dear for Roma’s second goal and that proved the key moment in the match. Aside from that, he did well in the first period, but like nearly all those around him his performance became increasingly erratic in the latter stages when the game was lost.
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He was lucky to get away with an awful piece of defending just before the home side’s second goal but was otherwise steady enough.
Cahill returned to the side after being rested against Bournemouth on Saturday and was steady during the first half. He was unfortunate to be taken off early in the second period when both Rudiger and Luiz had made obvious errors.
Typically reliable for the most part, Azpilicueta soldiered on despite a first-half injury and was as committed as ever even when the game was lost.
The Frenchman had a strong first half, beginning with a surging run that could have led to a Pedro goal even before Roma’s opener. But he missed a great headed chance just before the interval and then – like those around him – let his standards drop in the final 30 minutes.
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A poor night for Fabregas whose evening was summed up by the uncharacteristic casual pass that led to Perotti’s goal after the interval.
Caught napping for the first-minute goal, Alonso got forward well in the first half. But the Spaniard was part of a miserable second-half performance. He looked jaded.
Bright and lively in the first period and he remained industrious but was starved of the ball after the break and faded as an attacking threat.
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Chelsea’s standout player once again, Hazard should have done better with an early one-on-one chance but also created a couple of opportunities of his own and remained a constant danger despite Chelsea’s dismal second half. A nasty late tackle in the first period, which caught the Belgian on the back of the shin, understandably seemed to affect him slightly.
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Morata missed a great chance just before the interval and became increasingly frustrated during the second half before being replaced. His hold-up play was hit and miss and he looked like his confidence was affected the longer the match progressed.
Made little impression but lacked support.
Did very little wrong during a 20-minute spell on the pitch but, with the game already lost and Chelsea struggling, he could not spark a comeback.
Like Drinkwater, Batshuayi had very little opportunity to get into the match having come on with the side finding it difficult to retain possession.
This post was last modified on 01/11/2017
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BAKAYOKO SHOULD NOT PLAY AGAIN HE IS FAKE