Chelsea faced off against Aston Villa at Villa Park earlier today as they looked to pick maximum points on the road and secure a top-three finish in the Premier League. The Blues enjoyed more of the ball in the first half but struggled to finish off their chances. They got punished in the 43rd minute when Bertrand Traore found the back of the net for the Villans. Thomas Tuchel’s men went into the half-time break one goal down on the scoreline.
The Villans made a quick start to the second half and doubled their lead in the 52nd minute courtesy of Anwar El Ghazi’s penalty. Ben Chilwell pulled a goal back for Chelsea in the 70th minute, but they went a man down in the latter stages of the game when Cesar Azpilicueta was shown a red card. The contest ended with the West London outfit suffering a lacklustre 2-1 loss away at the West Midlands, but Leicester City’s 4-2 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur confirmed Chelsea’s place in next season’s UEFA Champions League.
Let’s take a look at how each Chelsea player performed during the match against the Villans.
GK: Edouard Mendy – 6/10
The Senegalese keeper made one good save in the first half but couldn’t keep a clean sheet. He got injured after colliding with the post and was taken off at half-time.
CB: Reece James – 6.5/10
He got stuck in with some crunching tackles and was quite lively going forward. However, it was an average display from him on the defensive end of the field.
CB: Thiago Silva – 7/10
The Brazilian defensive ace won the ball back quite a few times for his team and cleared the danger well when called into action. However, his efforts were not enough as Chelsea still ended up losing the game.
CB: Antonio Rudiger – 6/10
Rudiger was far from convincing at the back but deserves credit for being accurate with his ball distribution.
LM: Ben Chilwell – 8/10
Chilwell performed his defensive duties well and was a constant nuisance for the Villans down the left flank. He created some decent openings for his teammates in the final third and scored a deserved goal in the 70th minute, giving the Blues some hope of getting something out of this game.
CM: Mateo Kovacic – 5.5/10
He struggled to give a good account of himself at the centre of the park and got substituted after the hour mark.
CM: Jorginho – 5/10
The Italian midfield ace created a couple of inviting chances for others around him but was guilty of giving away a penalty early in the second half.
RM: Cesar Azpilicueta – 6/10
The Spaniard worked his socks off at both ends of the field. He made a couple of crucial interceptions and orchestrated two good chances for his teammates during the game.
LAM: Christian Pulisic – 7/10
He caused all sorts of problems for the Villa defenders and ended the game with an assist to his name.
RAM: Mason Mount – 6/10
Mount was at fault for squandering some inviting chances to find the back of the net. However, he did create some meaningful opportunities for his teammates to score.
ST: Timo Werner – 6/10
He was once again unfortunate to have a goal ruled out for off-side. However, he kept pushing and was a handful for the Villans centre-backs.
Substitutes:
GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga – 6/10
The Spanish keeper failed to keep a clean sheet in the second half.
CAM: Hakim Ziyech – 6/10
Ziyech didn’t do enough to get himself a goal.
ST: Kai Havertz – 6/10
The German attacker wasted some decent chances to score.
