In this year’s Community Shield, a silverware being deemed as a friendly by the FA, two arch rivals Arsenal and Chelsea locked horns owing to their FA Cup and Premier League wins from last season, respectively. After an uneventful first half, Antonio Conte’s men chiselled a lead as Victor Moses found the back of the net moments after the restart.
However, things went downhill after Pedro was sent off for his horror tackle on Mohamed Elneny and then, Sead Kolasinac made full use of Granit Xhaka’s delivery from the resulting set-piece. The Gunners had the last laugh as the Blues failed to impose any pressure on the thirteen-time league winners in the penalty shootout.
Here are our Chelsea player ratings from their defeat at Wembley Stadium:
Thibaut Courtois 7.5/10
The Belgian octopus looked sharp and confident between the sticks once again and denied Granit Xhaka’s thundering strike. However, Courtois could have done better during the penalty shootout.
Cesar Azpilicueta 6.5/10
Azpilicueta didn’t have a good start. He appeared timorous and was booked, but found his feet once the game progressed.
David Luiz 7/10
Luiz hardly showed any flaw and read Arsenal’s attacking endeavours in a very shrewd manner.
Gary Cahill 6.5/10
The Englishman looked pretty solid against Arsene Wenger’s men and was exemplarily powerful in the air.
Victor Moses 7.5/10
The Nigerian international was a livewire as he ran up and down the flanks with sheer ruthlessness. Moses handed the Pensioners the lead after he coolly navigated the ball past Petr Cech from a close range.
Cesc Fabregas 6.5/10
The Spaniard played a pivotal role in ensuring that Conte’s troops stick together as a unit with his clever passes. But he couldn’t yield an end product.
N’Golo Kante 7/10
The former Leicester City midfielder might not have dominated the midfield the way he would have liked to but did come back strongly in the second half. He looked lively and worked really hard.
Marcos Alonso 6.5/10
A decent outing for Alonso who did the basics right, but then, he has the calibre to do much better.
Willian 7/10
The Belgian did toil hard and constantly tried to make something happen in favour of his employers. He was unlucky for being booked for a dive as the replays showed that he was clipped.
Pedro 6/10
The former Barcelona attacker was having a decent game until he received a red card for his reckless challenge on Mohamed Elneny.
Michy Batshuayi 6.5/10
He might have put his fighting spirit on display but more often than not, he found himself cut off from his teammates up front.
Substitutions:
Alvaro Morata 6.5/10
The former Real Madrid striker replaced Batshuayi with just a quarter of an hour left to play, but showed his exemplary work rate, held up the game up front and registered a notable aerial presence.
Antonio Rudiger 6.5/10
Rudiger came on after Alonso was taken off and did put his blistering pace and confidence on the tray.
Charly Musonda NA
The youngster replaced Willian with very little time to prove his worth.
