Chelsea locked horns with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium earlier tonight as they focused on earning a victory in the third round of the EFL Cup. The Blues managed to keep a solid shape at the back and went into the half-time break with a goalless scoreline.
The West London club made an underwhelming start to the second half and conceded the opening goal in the 53rd minute when Riyad Mahrez found the back of the net. Julian Alvarez doubled the home team’s advantage just five minutes later as Chelsea ended up losing the contest by a 2-0 scoreline which knocked them out of the EFL Cup.
Let’s take a look at how each Chelsea player performed during the contest against Man City.
GK: Edouard Mendy – 8/10
Mendy made a lot of solid saves at the back but still ended up conceding two goals tonight.
CB: Trevoh Chalobah – 6/10
He made a few important clearances at the back and was tidy with his passing.
CB: Kalidou Koulibaly – 7/10
Koulibaly gave a good account of himself on the defensive end of the field and was good on the ball.
CB: Marc Cucurella – 7/10
The Spaniard didn’t shy away from making a tackle and made one key chance in the final third.
RM: Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 6.5/10
The English talent did his fair share of defending but offered very little in the final third.
CM: Mateo Kovacic – 6/10
Kovacic engineered a couple of inviting chances for his teammates but struggled to get a foothold in the game at times.
CM: Denis Zakaria – 6.5/10
He earned the ball back a few times and created one good opportunity going forward.
LM: Lewis Hall – 6.5/10
Hall completed some promising dribbles down the left flank and made one crucial interception at the back.
RW: Hakim Ziyech – 6.5/10
Ziyech showed some flashes of what he is capable of but never looked like he would score.
ST: Armando Broja – 6/10
He had a quiet game in the final third and failed to threaten the opposition goal.
LW: Christian Pulisic – 6.5/10
Pulisic caused a few problems for the Man City defenders but didn’t do enough to get his name on the scoresheet.
Substitutes:
CM: Mason Mount – 6/10
The England international added some energy to Graham Potter’s midfield.
LW: Raheem Sterling – 6/10
He never looked like he would score.
CM: Conor Gallagher – 6.5/10
Gallagher made one key chance in the Man City half.
CB: Cesar Azpilicueta – 6/10
The Spaniard kept things solid at the back.
ST: Kai Havertz – 6/10
He had a few lively moments in the game after coming off the bench.
