Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea have been in surreal form recently but the club needed a win in their latest game against Southampton at St.Mary’s to keep the pressure up in the title race, and they did get the win. Well taken goals from Eden Hazard, Ross Barkley and Alvaro Morata put the game beyond Southampton and earned Chelsea a crucial victory. Here’s how the players have been rated after this win over the Saints.
GK: Kepa – 7.5/10
Reacted very well to deny Redmond and Ings in the second half and he had good composure with the ball at his feet. He has to improve a little in trying to command his defence but today’s performance was promising.
RB: Caesar Azpilicueta – 6/10
Decent and tidy. He did not give Redmond a lot of space on most occasions.
CB: Antonio Rudiger – 7.5/10
Rudiger has been in terrific form of-late with outstanding performances, and he followed that up with another excellent showing today. He made two solid blocks in the second half and was active and alert against Ings.
CB: David Luiz – 7/10
Complimented Rudiger well and played a good part in keeping the clean sheet for the away team.
LB: Marcos Alonso – 6/10
He wasn’t troubled as such and had a decent game.
CDM: N’golo Kante – 5.5/10
Southampton were on the back-foot from the beginning, and Chelsea played a lot of football in the advanced areas so naturally, this wasn’t his game to shine. He was going forward but not as influential today.
CM: Jorginho – 7/10
His passing was supreme. Had a substantial influence on the match!
CM: Ross Barkley- 8/10
This was the game Barkley needed to kick-off his Chelsea career, and he did well. He kept the passes going, tracked back on many occasions to retrieve the ball, his assist to Hazard was sweet, and he got a well-deserved goal too. A solid overall performance.
RF: Willian – 6/10
Mediocre and kept himself busy with the ball but he can be more influential and composed for sure.
LF: Eden Hazard – 9/10
He ran the show for Chelsea again and took his goal clinically. His assist to Morata was well timed and excellent as usual. Man of the match in my opinion!
ST: Olivier Giroud – 6/10
The Frenchman is underrated and while he didn’t really play a huge part in the win but his assist to Barkley was brilliant as he attempted a scissor kick. Chelsea can rely on him when Morata isn’t in form.
Substitutes
ST: Alvaro Morata – 7/10
Showed a little more of optimism and his goal was very nicely taken. He did miss a chance earlier but this week has been positive for the Spaniard.
RF: Pedro – N/A
CM: Matteo Kovacic – N/A
