Chelsea faced off against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane earlier tonight hoping to pick up maximum points on the road. The Blues dominated possession in the first half and scored the opener in the 43rd minute courtesy of Mason Mount’s goal which gave them a narrow 1-0 lead at half-time.
The Blades made an encouraging start to the second half and equalised in the 54th minute because of an unfortunate own goal from Antonio Rudiger. However, Jorginho put Chelsea back ahead when he converted a penalty just four minutes later. Thomas Tuchel’s men hung on to their narrow lead and secured a hard-fought 2-1 win away at South Yorkshire.
Let’s take a look at how each Chelsea player fared during the match against the Blades.
GK: Edouard Mendy – 6/10
The Blues keeper did his job well when called into action but won’t be happy after shipping in a goal in the second half which extinguished his hopes of a clean sheet.
CB: Cesar Azpilicueta – 6.5/10
The Spaniard kept things solid when defending inside his half. He also had a couple of bright moments going forward.
CB: Andreas Christensen – 7/10
He was strong in the air and distributed the ball with conviction when playing his way out from the back. Christensen was also not shy of clearing the danger when needed.
CB: Antonio Rüdiger – 5/10
The German centre-back dealt with everything that came his way but scored an own goal in the second half, which fortunately didn’t cost his team the three points.
LM: Ben Chilwell – 6/10
Chilwell struggled to get himself involved in the game and got replaced at the hour mark.
CM: Mateo Kovacic – 7/10
He was always willing to make some driving sprints with the ball and did well to protect his teammates at the back when needed.
CM: Jorginho – 8/10
The Italian talent helped Chelsea dominate the midfield battle and kept his composure to convert the penalty in the second half which ended up deciding the contest.
RM: Reece James – 7.5/10
James was defensively solid and completed a few dangerous dribbles out on the wide areas.
CAM: Mason Mount – 7.5/10
The English playmaker gave his team the lead in the 43rd minute but faded in and out of the game.
ST: Timo Werner – 6/10
The German striker couldn’t manage to find the back of the net tonight but did enough to earn himself an assist for setting up Mount’s goal just before the half-time break.
ST: Olivier Giroud – 6/10
The ex-Arsenal striker struggled to give a good account of himself and was subbed just after the hour mark.
Substitutes:
ST: Callum Hudson-Odoi – 6.5/10
He created a couple of good chances for others around him.
LM: Marcos Alonso – 6/10
The Spanish wide player did his job at the back but couldn’t influence the game in the Sheffield United half.
CM: NGolo Kante – 6/10
Kante kept things tidy in midfield.
