Chelsea locked horns with Dinamo Zagreb at the Stadion Maksimir earlier this evening as they hoped to kick off their UEFA Champions League campaign with a win on the road. The Blues made a lackluster start to the game and conceded the opening goal in the 13th minute when Mislav Orsic scored a wonderful breakaway goal for the home team. Thomas Tuchel’s failed to come up with a response and went into the half-time break 1-0 down on the scoreline.
The West London club pushed on in search of the equaliser but were toothless in front of the Zagreb goal. The contest ended with Chelsea crashing to a poor 1-0 defeat away from home.
Let’s take a look at how each Chelsea player performed during the contest against Dinamo Zagreb.
GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga – 6.5/10
The Spanish talent made a couple of good saves during the match but didn’t do enough to stop Orsic’s improvised finish early in the game.
CB: Cesar Azpilicueta – 6/10
He got stuck in with some solid tackles in the first half but got replaced at half-time.
CB: Wesley Fofana – 7.5/10
Fofana gave a good account of himself on the defensive end of the field and engineered two key chances in the final third.
CB: Kalidou Koulibaly – 7/10
He earned the ball back a couple of times and had a couple of lively moments in the opponent’s half.
RM: Reece James – 7/10
James was defensively weak at times but produced a bright display going forward. He was unfortunate to hit the crossbar.
CM: Mason Mount – 6.5/10
He made some solid tackles and was not shy of having a shot at goal. The English talent even made two decent openings in the final third.
CM: Mateo Kovacic – 7/10
Kovacic made some decent runs with the ball in the final third but struggled to offer enough protection for his teammates at the back.
LM: Ben Chilwell – 6/10
He struggled to get a stranglehold in the game and did well to last 70 minutes.
RW: Kai Havertz – 7/10
Havertz had a lot of encouraging moments in the Zagreb half but there was no goal for him this evening.
ST: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 6/10
The Gabon international made one good chance in the final third but didn’t get a sniff at goal.
LW: Raheem Sterling – 6/10
He struggled to threaten the opponent’s goal and put in a disappointing display on the attacking end of the field.
Substitutes:
RM: Hakim Ziyech – 6/10
He was not afraid to have a strike at goal but offered very little in the final third.
ST: Armando Broja – 6/10
Broja struggled to get into the flow of the game.
CM: Jorginho – 6.5/10
The Italy international added more bite and steel to Tuchel’s midfield.
LM: Marc Cucurella – 6/10
His impact on the game was minimal.
ST: Christian Pulisic – 6/10
Pulisic failed to threaten the Zagreb goal.
