Chelsea faced off against Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium earlier tonight as they hoped to secure a good result on the road in the first leg of their EFL Cup semifinal tie. The Blues made a decent start to the game but conceded the opening goal in the 37th minute when Hayden Hackney found the back of the net for the home team. Mauricio Pochettino’s men went into the half-time break 1-0 down on the scoreline.
The West London club failed to mount a comeback in the second 45 minutes and crashed to a lackluster 1-0 loss away from home.
Let’s take a look at how each Chelsea player fared during the clash against Middlesbrough.
GK: Dorde Petrovic – 6/10
He made one solid save at the back but failed to keep a clean sheet.
RB: Malo Gusto – 7/10
Gusto got stuck in with some crunching tackles and made two good chances in the final third.
CB: Axel Disasi – 6.5/10
The French talent cleared the danger when he could and won his fair share of aerial duels.
CB: Thiago Silva – 6.5/10
Silva earned possession back once and was strong in the air. However, he won’t be pleased after conceding a first-half goal.
LB: Levi Colwill – 6.5/10
He did his fair share of defending and was accurate with his passing.
CM: Moises Caicedo – 7/10
Caicedo anchored the midfield well and was a good presence on the ball.
CM: Enzo Fernandez – 6.5/10
The Argentine sensation caught the eye at times in both halves but was replaced after the hour mark.
RW: Noni Madueke – 7/10
He caused some problems for the opposition defenders but didn’t do enough to register a goal.
CAM: Conor Gallagher – 6.5/10
Gallagher made two driving runs with the ball but failed to threaten the opponent’s goal.
LW: Raheem Sterling – 6.5/10
He was a threat at times but didn’t do enough to get his name on the scoresheet.
ST: Cole Palmer – 7/10
Palmer caused a lot of headaches for his marker but there was no goal for him as well.
Substitutes:
ST: Armando Broja – 6/10
He failed to make a difference off the bench.
LW: Mykhailo Mudryk – 6/10
Mudryk added some pace to Chelsea’s attack.
RB: Alfie Gilchrist – N/A
