• April 13, 2022
• Olaoluwa Nwobodo

A devastating night for the Blues as they win the battle but lose the war. Chelsea showed character as they initially looked like they’d run riot at Santiago Bernabeu, but faltered at the end as they allowed the game to be dragged to extra time, where they lost to a Karim Benzema goal. It was a magnificent team performance but how did the players fare individually?

Goalkeeper: Average performance

Mendy was average again, if not poor. He faced four shots and allowed two to go in. Admittedly, he didn’t fumble any save for any of the goals conceded. The first goal was a result of the defense being caught flat-footed. The second goal was a close-range header from one of the best center forwards in Europe. The defense should take more of the blame.

Defenders: Very good but missing at crucial points

Reece James played well. He won the majority of his duels (12/14) and made the most tackles of anyone on the pitch (8). He completed two crosses and created one of Chelsea’s five big chances on the night.

Antonio Rudiger was also very good. He scored a crucial goal with a header from a corner, putting the Blues two goals up. An indicting moment for the German international was when he was caught flat-footed for Benzema’s winning goal in extra time. These are crucial moments, especially for a centerback. Thiago Silva was good. Just good. He won all his duels (5/5) and made 6 defensive actions, two more than he did in the first leg.

Midfielders: Alonso, a standout

Mateo Kovacic was very good. Much better than he was in the reverse fixture. His dribbling was particularly good. His distribution was impeccable. N’Golo Kante fell short more in the decision-making department. He was also caught in possession a number of times.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek had a very average performance at right wingback. Alonso was Chelsea’s best midfielder on the night. The Spaniard created the most chances (4), like Mason Mount. Unlike Mount though, Alonso created a clear-cut chance. He held Chelsea’s left flank very well. He completed an outrageous six out of nine attempted crosses. Alonso showed how Chelsea missed him in the first leg. He scored a perfectly legal goal that was ruled out for a handball despite the ball bouncing twice on his lap before hitting his hand, which was plastered to his body.

Forwards: Werner was productive again

Timo Werner was magnificent for the second game in a row. He started the game by providing the assist for Chelsea’s opening goal. He then scored his own to put Chelsea 3-0 up deep into the game. Mount also played very well. His corner kicks were very good. The finish for his goal was top drawer.

Kai Havertz had a mixed bag. On one hand, he created a clear-cut chance. On the other hand, he only won seven out of 22 contested duels. He also missed two clear-cut chances.

Substitutes: Ziyech should’ve come on earlier

Christian Pulisic did what he did best: got on the end of big chances. His shots indicate his movement were very good. Jorginho was brought in to restore control to the lineup, no one can confidently say that plan worked. He got a golden opportunity to level the tie on aggregate but he pulled his shot wide. Saul was inconsequential.

Hakim Ziyech simply should have come on earlier. Only Thomas Tuchel can explain why he kept Ziyech out of the match for as long as he did. Ziyech contributed more to the match than all the other substitutes. Ziyech was only on the pitch for 20 minutes but in that time he created a clear-cut chance at 3-2 down and won three out of his four contested duels. He also won two fouls to relieve Chelsea of pressure at crucial points towards the end of extra time.

Tuchel, to his credit, did everything right except bring Ziyech on later than he should’ve and leaving Kante on the pitch much longer than he should’ve.

Rating:
Mendy: 6.5
James: 7.5
Silva: 7
Rudiger: 7.5
Loftus-Cheek: 6.5
Kante: 5.5
Alonso: 8
Mount: 7.5
Werner: 8
Havertz: 5
Pulisic (83′): 5
Ziyech (100′): 7
Jorginho (105′): 6
Saul (105′): 6

Tuchel: 8

All statistics are gotten from SofaScore.com

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