Chelsea welcomed Atletico Madrid at Stamford Bridge earlier tonight as they looked to secure a result at home and ensure qualification into the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League. The Blues made a dominant start to the first half and took the lead in the 34th minute courtesy of Hakim Ziyech’s finish from close range. Thomas Tuchel’s men defended well and cruised to a 1-0 lead at half-time.
Atletico tried to get a goal back in the second 45 minutes but failed to break the Chelsea defence down. Stefen Savic received a red card in the 81st minute before Emerson Palmieri added another goal to pile on even more misery on the visitors as the contest finished 2-0 in favour of the West London outfit.
Let’s take a look at how each Chelsea player fared during the clash against Atletico Madrid.
GK: Edouard Mendy – 7.5/10
The Blues keeper made some good saves during the game and earned an impressive clean sheet tonight. This game showed just why Chelsea decided to sign him last year.
CB: Cesar Azpilicueta – 7/10
The Spaniard read the danger quickly and cleared his lines when needed. He was excellent when passing the ball out from the back as well.
CB: Kurt Zouma – 8/10
Zouma was strong in the air and pulled off quite a few important clearances throughout the match. He also earned possession back a couple of times and looked composed on the ball.
CB: Antonio Rudiger – 7/10
He did what was asked of him on the defensive end of the field. Rudiger also had a couple of lively moments in the final third but could not keep his shot attempts on-target.
RM: Reece James – 7/10
James performed his defensive duties well and produced an encouraging display in the Atletico half. He rose to the occasion quite well and engineered some decent chances for his teammates to score.
CM: N’Golo Kante – 7.5/10
The Frenchman worked his socks off at the centre of the park and made two crucial interceptions for his side. He also completed a few energetic dribbles from midfield.
CM: Mateo Kovacic – 8/10
Kovacic was always willing to make runs with the ball and was a real handful for the opposition. He also protected his teammates well at the back.
LM: Marcos Alonso – 6/10
Alonso didn’t do too much wrong off the ball but struggled to get involved in the attacking third.
RAM: Hakim Ziyech – 8/10
The talented playmaker gave Chelsea the lead with a calm finish from close range. He was a constant nuisance for Diego Simeone’s defenders and probably should have added to his goal-tally later in the game.
LAM: Kai Havertz – 7/10
The former Bundesliga sensation had plenty of promising moments in and around the opponent’s penalty box but didn’t manage to get his name on the scoresheet.
ST: Timo Werner – 7.5/10
Werner set-up Ziyech’s goal with a great pass and was a big goal-threat throughout the 90 minutes.
Substitutes:
RAM: Christian Pulisic – 7/10
He came off the bench and picked up a good assist for setting up Emerson’s goal in injury-time.
CAM: Callum Hudson-Odoi – 7/10
His pace caused a few problems for the Atletico defence.
LM: Ben Chilwell – N/A
He did not have enough time to make an impact.
LAM: Emerson Palmieri – N/A
Emerson came on to find the back of the net in injury-time.
