Zenit v Chelsea player ratings

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Chelsea will be unseeded for the knockout stage of the Champions League after an injury-time Zenit equaliser meant the holders went through as group runners-up. Here’s how we rated each Blues player in the 3-3 draw


Kepa Arrizabalaga: 8

Possibly his best performance for Chelsea. Produced a number of fine saves, the pick of the bunch being a fabulous stop to keep out Sardar Azmoun’s header.

Cesar Azpilicueta: 5

Not a great night for the captain. Was generally well short of his best and a dismal clearance led to Zenit’s first goal.

Andreas Christensen: 5

Also poor. Had major problems dealing with Zenit’s attack and made a mess of trying to play the offside trap in the build-up to the Russian side’s second goal.

Malang Sarr: 6

Struggled badly in the first half but deserves some credit for an improvement after the interval.

Callum Hudson-Odoi: 6

Didn’t make the impact he would have wanted in an attacking sense but did get through a lot of defensive work.

Reece James: 6

Did nothing drastically wrong, but deploying James in a midfield role didn’t really work. Chelsea looked vulnerable in that area and missed his deliveries from out wide.

Ross Barkley: 6

A mixed night for Barkley. Not always comfortable in a deeper role and gave the ball away in the build-up to the second Zenit goal. But he was involved in good moments at the other end, delivering the corner which led to the opening goal and helping to set up Chelsea’s second.

Saul Niguez: 6

Not too bad. Didn’t pull up any trees at wing-back but it was certainly an improvement on his previous displays.

Mason Mount: 6

Stifled in the middle and was needed out wide to help out as Chelsea struggled on the flanks.

Timo Werner: 9

A good night for the German, who scored Chelsea’s quickest-ever Champions League goal and found the net again late on only for Zenit to hit back. He also set up Romelu Lukaku for the Blues’ other goal.

Romelu Lukaku: 7

Scored his first goal since September and worked hard up front before going off with 15 minutes remaining.

Christian Pulisic: 7

Lively after coming on and set up Werner’s second goal after a neat one-two with Hakim Ziyech.

Hakim Ziyech: 6

Did well for that goal and overall it was a decent cameo.

Marcos Alonso: 6

Offered fresh legs on the left for the final 15 minutes.

Kai Havertz: 6

Didn’t have much time to make an impact after replacing Lukaku.