Chelsea suffered yet another disappointing result under Graham Potter as they were defeated 2-0 by Aston Villa. The Blues had previously drawn 2-2 with Everton in their last home game before the international break. SunSport’s John Dillon rated and criticised each player’s performance on the day.
Kepa Arrizabalaga received a rating of 5 as he was left stranded and unable to do anything when Ollie Watkins scored early on. He also had no chance of stopping John McGinn’s second-half goal for Villa. Reece James, who played on the right of the back three, received a rating of 6 for his intelligent and organised play. He worked hard to get the ball to Ruben Loftus-Cheek but to no avail.
Kalidou Koulibaly, who received a rating of 7, was wrong-footed by his teammate Marc Cucurella when Villa took the lead. However, his presence could not keep Chelsea afloat. Cucurella received a rating of 5 as he was involved in a fierce tussle with Villa’s aggressive John McGinn from the start. He then got in Koulibaly’s way and headed back for Ollie Watkins to score for Villa in the 18th minute.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who received a rating of 6, sought out pathways through on the right and got in several crosses, but they were not harmful enough. Enzo Fernandez received a rating of 5 as he looked busy in central midfield without ever properly imposing himself on the game as might have been expected given his gargantuan price-tag.
Mateo Kovacic, who received a rating of 6, was a biting and driving presence in the centre of midfield as usual. He showed his pragmatic side when he was booked for halting Ashley Young’s breakaway near half-time. Ben Chilwell, who received a rating of 6, eagerly looked for openings in his left-sided midfield role. He loudly claimed a penalty when he got clear in the box but appeared to be brought down by Ezri Konsa in the first half.
Kai Havertz received a rating of 5 as he often seemed unfocused in his attacks and fluffed a good 14th-minute chance. He was closer with a clever clipped effort on the verge of the break. Mykhailo Mudryk, who received a rating of 5, still looks like he is struggling to find his feet in English football. He missed a poor and weak chance from 15 yards when put clear by Mateo Kovacic in the 31st minute and was eventually substituted off.
Joao Felix, who received a rating of 6, summed up Chelsea’s frenzied but undisciplined attacking with his busyness. He had several half-chances throughout the game but was not clinical enough. N’Golo Kante, who came on for Loftus-Cheek in the 57th minute, received a rating of 6 as his much-needed return from injury caused him to miss a sitter eight minutes after coming on.
Noni Madueke, who came on for Mudryk in the 57th minute, received a rating of 5 as he sent a 20-yard curler just wide in the 64th minute. Conor Gallagher, who came on for Kovacic in the 80th minute, received a rating of 6 as he was sent on late in an attempt to find a fresh way forward for the stuttering home side. Christian Pulisic, who came on for Cucurella in the 80th minute, also received a rating of 6 as his late introduction was in the hope of injecting new creativity and perhaps a goal threat, but neither materialised. The subs not used were Badiashile, Bettinelli, Chalobah, Mount, and Chukwuemeka.