Chelsea welcomed Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge earlier tonight as they hoped to secure a win in front of their home fans and book a spot in the fourth round of the EFL Cup. The Blues dominated the ball in the first half but struggled to make the opening breakthrough as they were held at half-time by a goalless scoreline.
Timo Werner finally broke the deadlock for the West London outfit when he scored with a good header in the 54th minute. However, Cameron Archer managed to score the equalizer for the Villans just ten minutes later as he found the back of the net with a decent header. Thomas Tuchel’s men could only play out a 1-1 draw after the normal time.
The home team ended up winning the penalty shootout by a narrow 4-3 scoreline which ensured their place in the next round of the EFL Cup.
Let’s take a look at how each Chelsea player performed during the match against the Villans.
GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga – 7.5/10
The Spaniard made some important saves during the game and did enough to save Marvelous Nakamba’s penalty in the shootout.
RB: Reece James – 9/10
James was strong in the air and didn’t put a foot wrong on the defensive end of the field. He hardly gave away the ball and has got an assist to show for his efforts. The English talent also converted his penalty in the shootout.
CB: Trevoh Chalobah – 6/10
Chalobah made a couple of important interceptions and was tidy with his passing. However, he won’t be pleased after conceding a second-half goal.
CB: Malang Sarr – 6.5/10
He had to do his fair share of defending and performed well enough to restrict the Villans to just one goal.
LB: Ben Chilwell – 5.5/10
Chilwell tried to keep things solid at the back but failed to influence the game in the Villans half. He also missed his penalty which fortunately didn’t cost his team the result.
CM: N’Golo Kante – 6.5/10
The French midfielder kept the ball moving quite well in the first half and was replaced at half-time.
CM: Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 7.5/10
He made quite a few exciting runs with the ball and engineered some decent openings for his teammates to score. It was an impressive display from him tonight.
CM: Saul Niguez – 6.5/10
The Spaniard got stuck in with some crunching tackles and was always willing to have an attempt at goal. However, he was lacklustre in the final third.
RW: Callum Hudson-Odoi – 7/10
The English winger was a constant threat down the right flank but didn’t do enough to get himself a goal.
ST: Timo Werner – 7/10
At times, the German striker found chances to come at a premium but deserves credit for giving Chelsea the lead with a good header. However, he also squandered some opportunities to find the back of the net.
LW: Hakim Ziyech – 6.5/10
Ziyech was a bit selfish at times but did manage to create two key chances for others around him. He got substituted in the 75th minute.
Substitutes:
CM: Mason Mount – 7/10
Mount gave Chelsea more energy and invention in the second half and deserves a pat on the back for scoring his penalty in the shootout.
CM: Ross Barkley – 6.5/10
He converted his penalty in the shootout.
ST: Romelu Lukaku – 6.5/10
The Belgian didn’t get too many opportunities to score in normal time but did well to score his penalty under pressure.
