A look at Chelsea’s player ratings from yesterday’s game against Brentford on WhoScored shows a team in two parts.
The players who sit behind the ball did well. Robert Sanchez got a 7.1 and made some smart saves to keep his team in the game.
Trevoh Chalobah had a good game and got a 7.0, Tosin Adarabioyo was also good (apart from one rash tackle which got him a yellow) and got a 6.8. Malo Gusto got a 6.9, and Reece James was the highest rated defender with a 7.4.
Moises Caicedo ahead of them was the highest rated Chelsea player with a 7.6. He was superb once again.
Attack disappoints to let down solid back line
But the further forward you got, the lower the ratings drop. Caicedo’s midfield partner Enzo Fernandez get a 6.8, and from there it really goes downhill.
There were high hopes for Noni Madueke’s return as he came back after an injury, but he was disappointing on the right wing, picking up a 6.3. To our eyes, Jadon Sancho was perhaps even worse on the left, even though he got a marginally better 6.4 rating.
We were shocked to see Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in the team and he was pretty anonymous despite playing in the most creative position in the team.
The worst came last – Christopher Nkunku got a 6.1 and honestly was lucky to get that. He was as disinterested as usual.
We don’t just blame the players – Brentford are a really solid outfit and it was always going to be tough to make inroads without Nicolas Jackson or Cole Palmer starting the game. But these attackers who were picked are supposed to be good enough to step into the team and win Premier League games. They weren’t anywhere near up to that yesterday.
