Premier League defending champions Chelsea took on newcomers Brighton and Hove Albion in the Boxing Day matchup in their own backyard in search of some valuable points that will help them go up the ladder. The Blues won the match with goals from the Spanish duo of Alvaro Morata, who made his comeback into the starting lineup and Marcos Alonso to seal the deal for their side with three much-needed points.
A boring first half followed by a dominant Chelsea display in the second saw the Blues win 2-0 on the night with all four Spaniards in the team getting involved in goals.
Here are the player ratings from the match for Chelsea.
Thibaut Courtois: 6
Another not so busy day for the Belgian as he pulled off his eleventh clean sheet of this season’s Premier League campaign. The Belgian was on hand though to pull off a classic reflex save from Murray which later turned out to be offside.
Antonio Rudiger: 7
The young German international is growing in confidence and was seen making many a forward pass today. His ball distribution is excellent and he made several long passes over 40 yards to help his team initiate attacks.
Gary Cahill: 6.5
Put into the centre of the back three owing to Christensen’s illness, he played well although very little danger was posed to his goal.
Cesar Azpilicueta: 8
Another neat classic Azpilicueta-ish display, the Spaniard was truly a bargain but for Chelsea. He was on hand again to provide his sixth assist of the season by crossing the ball into the box to yet again find the head of none other than Alvaro Morata.
Marcos Alonso: 8.5
The Spaniard could have had a hattrick today had it not been for Mat Ryan’s save. Alonso scored his 10th goal of the year and was a constant threat down the left channel.
Victor Moses: 6.5
A hard-working display from Moses, although he still needs to smarten up his link-up play.
N’Golo Kante: 7.5
Intercepted every attack before it could begin and made a few driving runs whenever he had the opportunity. Another “Kante” shift put in by the 2017 French Player of the Year.
Cesc Fabregas: 7.5
Clearly frustrated with his team’s lack of movement in the first half, the Spaniard was seen having fun in the second by picking out teammates at will. Ended up with an assist on the night.
Tiemoue Bakayoko: 5
The Frenchman had a new dimension added to his list of shortcomings today; a lack of finishing instinct. His heart is in the right place but his head, unfortunately, is never in the game and is always found wanting.
Eden Hazard: 8
The Belgian ran rings around the Brighton defence and his effort was cleared off the line to deny him a goal on the night.
Alvaro Morata: 8.5
Manchester United will be kicking their heels at having let go of Morata in favour of Lukaku right now with the Spaniard not only in better goal scoring form but showing signs of an overall better-developed striker in every footballing sense. Another headed goal for the Spaniard to enter double figures for Premier League goals this season.
