Steaua v Chelsea player ratings

Chelsea have work to do at Stamford Bridge if they are to reach the quarter-finals of the Europa League. Here’s how we rated the players in their first-leg defeat against Steaua Bucharest.

Petr Cech: 6
Barely involved. His kicking was average but he was commanding and untroubled – and he so nearly saved Steaua’s penalty.

Branislav Ivanovic: 6
Solid and powerful. Unable to get forward and make a difference in attack but defensively sound.

David Luiz: 7
Probably Chelsea’s best player – but that is hardly glowing praise after an inept team display. Made a couple of fine interceptions, although a feeble attempt to nick the ball away and start an attack almost led to a late goal. Used the ball well and at least tried to play with a bit of urgency. Sadly that quality was lacking among his team-mates.

John Terry: 6
Steady and tidy, but this was not the influential chest-thumping performance Chelsea fans have come to expect. His display suggests all is not well.

Ryan Bertrand: 5
Gave the soft penalty away when he got the wrong side of his man, even if he was a little unfortunate in that he tried to make a token challenge to put the forward off without committing a foul. Unconvincing.

Frank Lampard: 5
One of his least effective games in a Blues shirt. Often bypassed and too often caught in possession. Not for the first time the victim of the system as much as anything.

John Mikel Obi: 6
Like Lampard was exposed by the system and tactics – or absence of them. More comfortable than his central midfield colleague and did a decent job breaking up play in a miserable team effort.

Oscar: 6
Ineffective, but that was not down to any lack of application. Like all of Chelsea’s attacking players he struggled to link play in a disjointed team performance.

Eden Hazard: 5
Very quiet. Got in dangerous positions a couple of times but took a heavy touch. Regularly double marked and was deprived of decent possession in good areas.

Yossi Benayoun: 5
Spent a fair amount of time falling over and was generally anonymous. Showed one or two neat flicks and almost scored with a well-aimed but slightly scuffed first-half strike.

Fernando Torres: 5
It’s too easy to lambast the out-of-sorts Spaniard, but displays like this do not help his cause. Looked lost and isolated and although nothing seems to break for him, his price tag, demeanour and lack of conviction mean he will continue to be a target for abuse. What happened to the player who used to terrorise John Terry?

Juan Mata: 6
Provided some hope when he came on, but Chelsea’s key man was unable to salvage a pretty clueless team display.

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