Norwich v Chelsea player ratings

Chelsea continued their resurgence under Guus Hiddink, beating Norwich 2-1 for a sixth victory in a 12-game unbeaten Premier League run under the Dutchman. Here’s how we rated the players at Carrow Road.

Thibaut Courtois: 7
Had very little to do, with much of his time spent watching Cameron Jerome waste good chances for the home side. But showed impressive concentration levels to produce a fine instinctive injury-time save from Timm Klose’s deflected header. Was blameless for Nathan Redmond’s goal.

Cesar Azpilicueta: 8
Industrious, effective and untroubled. The Spaniard gave a typically understated, but impressive display.

Gary Cahill: 7
Strong and powerful and stood firm as Norwich pressed forward after the break. Struggled to contain Jerome, who proved a real handful but lacked quality.

Branislav Ivanovic: 6
Won some important headers and seems to relish the responsibility of being captain. But like Cahill he was not entirely convincing dealing with Jerome and was caught the wrong side on a couple of occasions.

Kenedy: 8
The Brazilian justified his inclusion at Baba Rahman’s expense within a minute with a wonderful run and finish for the opening goal and was involved throughout. Good on the ball and enthusiastic in defence.

Nemanja Matic: 6
Still not playing anywhere near the standard of last season, and was guilty of one or two sloppy moments in possession. But despite not playing with full confidence, he covered his defenders well and played an important role for the team. Unlucky not to score from a late corner.

Cesc Fabregas: 8
Dictated play from deep for most of the first half and, although quiet as Chelsea struggled after the break, he defended well during that worrying spell and showed his quality again when pushed further forward late on.

Eden Hazard: 8
Was sharp and bright from the off, setting up the early goal and constantly teasing and probing the home defence. Demanded possession, and used the ball well. The Belgian could finally be coming in to form.

Oscar: 7
Tenacious with his tackling and decent in possession. The Brazilian looks far happier playing centrally and gave a solid all-round performance.

Bertrand Traore: 7
Impressed with his searing pace on his first Premier League start. His pass set up Diego Costa’s goal and he was a threat in behind. But should he have done better when his poor touch let the ball run away when put through by Hazard in the first half.

Diego Costa: 8
Another really strong centre-forward performance, allied with good quality. Took his goal with exceptional poise and was crisp with his passing and alert with his running in behind.

John Mikel Obi: 7
Brought a calmness to the side when Norwich were on top and made a couple of vital blocks.

Willian: 6
Was given a much-needed rest and did not see a great deal of the ball after coming on with 30 minutes remaining.

Baba Rahman:
The left-back defended solidly after replacing Kenedy, showing he took the manager’s advice on board after his mistake at Souhampton.