Wednesday night saw Chelsea lift the Europa League after beating Arsenal 4-1 in Baku. A poor first-half turned into a goal-fest of a tie after the restart, with the Blues taking all the glory.
Maurizio Sarri‘s side dominated proceedings in the second half as they took advantage of the Gunners’ decision not to turn up after the half-time whistle.
But, without further ado, here are your Chelsea player ratings.
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Goalkeeper and Defence
Looked a little uncomfortable in the early stages of the game and was perhaps fortunate to not have given away a penalty in the first half when Alexandre Lacazette looked to take the ball past him.
Despite not being able to do anything about Alex Iwobi’s stunner, the Spaniard made an excellent late save to deny the aforementioned Frenchman late in the game.
Solid ‘Dave’! The right-back continued to put in a reliable performance for the Blues at the back and helped to restrict Arsenal from threatening on his side of the pitch.
Made vital challenges, but did the job he needed to.
David Luiz – 7
He was defensively strong on Wednesday night and managed to put in a commanding shift when the ball was in the air.
Despite his ability at the back coming into question, the Brazilian managed to get through the game without any questionable decisions.
Outstanding! The young Dane centre-back put in an excellent shift in the absence of Antonio Rudiger and looks deserving of a regular place in the Chelsea team for many years to come.
He made crucial blocks and was a thorn in Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang‘s side all night.
Emerson Palmieri – 8
One of Chelsea’s best players in the first half, as he looked to threaten the Arsenal defence with a number of quality deliveries and lung-bursting runs as he got forward.
He finally earned his reward when he assisted for Olivier Giroud with a great cross.
Midfield
Jorginho – 7
Did his job without going noticed too much.
Continued to keep play ticking over for Chelsea with his passing quality and managed to pull the strings in midfield with Aaron Ramsey absent.
N’Golo Kante – 7
Rated ’50/50′ ahead of kick-off (as reported by Adam Crafton for the Daily Mail), the France international showed no signs of any injury and bossed the midfield as he normally does.
He won a number of battles in the second half and seemed to get better as the game went on.
Mateo Kovacic – 8
Arguably had one of his best games in a Chelsea shirt.
The Croatian bossed the midfield with his partners in crime and showed what he can bring to the table if he were to be at Stamford Bridge permanently.
Forwards
Pedro – 8
Had a quiet first 45 minutes, however, he showed everyone why he is a highly decorated footballer following the restart.
Netting Chelsea’s second, the former Barcelona man made it six goals in the final stage of a competition.
Eden Hazard – 9
What a way to bow out as a Chelsea player. His time at the Blues appears to be all but over (via an interview on Chelsea’s official website), however, he will likely leave the club with the best possible present he could.
His two goals ensured the club would end the campaign with silverware and will be missed by everyone associated with the west London outfit.
Olivier Giroud – 8
He was always likely going to score against Arsenal as it seemed destined in the stars and ensured he would have finished as the competition’s top goalscorer.
Having opened the scoring, he also won the penalty and then assisted the Chelsea’s fourth to cap off an excellent night.
Substitutes
Willian – 6
Came on with just 20 minutes to go and contributed with moments of skill and almost scored, however, he hardly had enough time to make a significant impact on the game.
Ross Barkley – 6
Replaced Kovacic in the 75th minute but did not do anything of note in the 15 minutes he had on the pitch.
Davide Zappacosta – N/A
Had a couple of minutes towards the end of the game, however, there was nothing to shout about.
Main Photo
Embed from Getty Images
