Villa v Chelsea player ratings
Chelsea resumed their Premier League season with a fine comeback win against Aston Villa. Here’s how we rated each Blues player in the 2-1 victory at Villa Park.
Kepa Arrizabalaga: 6
He made a decent save from Anwar el Ghazi’s 20-yard strike and had no chance with Kortney Hause’s miscued close-range effort.
Cesar Azpilicueta: 8
The Spanish defender was heavily involved in attack throughout and although he will feel partly responsible for Villa’s goal when he failed to attack the far-post delivery, he more than made amends with two fine crosses which led to goals.
Andreas Christensen: 6
He was guilty of ball-watching when Villa went ahead but otherwise impressed, looking strong in the air and composed on the deck.
Antonio Rudiger: 6
A standard mix of rugged defending with the odd shaky moment and some over-ambitious passing. He was rarely troubled but one notable second-half lapse could easily have led to a goal.
Marcos Alonso: 6
Alonso took up some great positions in attack, but too often failed to make the most of them.
Mason Mount: 8
The England midfielder almost scored with a fierce strike in the first half and was bright and effective and always likely to set up a goal, as he did with his direct running for Olivier Giroud’s winner.
N’Golo Kante: 8
The Frenchman played the complete midfield role, showing typical defensive awareness and a full range of passing from deep. Kante barely wasted possession and provided dependable defensive protection.
Mateo Kovacic: 6
An influential figure in the first half as Chelsea completely bossed the game, Kovacic was a whisker away from opening the scoring with a rasping strike from the edge of the box but was taken off within 10 minutes of the restart.
Willian: 7
Another who looked sharp and full of running but his final ball was not always up to scratch. He almost scored with a fine late shot from the edge of the box that was tipped over.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek: 5
It was wonderful to see Loftus-Cheek back after more than a year, but he was tentative, understandably off the pace and way off his best. He struggled to get involved although he was close to sliding in Mount’s drilled first-half cross.
Olivier Giroud: 7
Giroud’s goal was taken with the poise you would expect from the classy striker, swivelling neatly and firing home a vital winner, albeit with the help of a deflection. His link-up play was also of the usual standard and he fully justified his start.
Christian Pulisic: 7
A brilliantly controlled finish soon after coming on was the perfect start and his energy and urgency provided a welcome lift.
Ross Barkley: 7
Like Pulisic, Barkley’s dynamism was important and the double introduction was a smart move by boss Frank Lampard.
Tammy Abraham: 6
He had little time to or chance to make an impact.
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