Chelsea v Liverpool player ratings
Chelsea were comfortably beaten by Liverpool, with Andreas Christensen’s first-half dismissal proving decisive. Here’s how we rated each Blues player in the 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge.
Kepa Arrizabalaga: 5
A disaster for Kepa, who followed up his glaring error against Brighton with an even worse mistake by presenting Sadio Mane with Liverpool’s game-clinching second goal. He made a couple of encouraging early claims but his pass sealed a defeat which was already looking inevitable at 1-0 down with 10 men.
Reece James: 7
Another performance that confirms James as Chelsea’s right-back for years to come. He was impressive in defence and always at ease with the ball at his feet.
Kurt Zouma: 7
A performance full of concentration and promise, Zouma seemed comfortable when playing out under pressure from the back and defended with very few alarms.
Andreas Christensen: 5
The Dane was having a fine game, making a vital intervention to prevent a goal, generally defending with confidence and using the ball wisely. But Mane’s brilliant movement and run left him exposed and the subsequent sending off pretty much decided the outcome.
Marcos Alonso: 5
He was too easily caught out by a standard one-two on the right when Liverpool broke the deadlock and the goal as good as decided the game despite coming with nearly 50 minutes remaining.
Mateo Kovacic: 6
Restored to the starting line-up after his ban, the Croatian was neat and tidy in a losing cause.
Jorgihno: 6
Looked tidy and solid and provided a solid base, but his efforts were marred by the saved penalty that would have given a glimmer of hope of salvaging a draw.
N’Golo Kante: 7
The Frenchman was as busy as ever and it was a testament to his efforts that Liverpool’s numerical advantage wasn’t more obvious. But he did fail to make the most of a couple of promising attacking situations.
Mason Mount: 6
A workmanlike display that also saw the odd glimpse of his attacking instincts.
Kai Havertz: 5
Havertz barely saw the ball and made virtually no impact, but would surely have become increasingly involved as the players tired and the game opened up. The German was denied that privilege as he was the man sacrificed following Christensen’s red card.
Timo Werner: 8
The German was mightily impressive once again and offered the only realistic hope of getting back in the game. Werner won a penalty for the second successive game and remained a potent presence despite the odds being stacked against his side.
Fikayo Tomori: 6
Havertz’s replacement did well but within 10 minutes his chances of playing his part in a heroic rearguard action had vanished.
