A four-goal thriller at Stamford Bridge saw Chelsea and Liverpool play out a gripping 2-2 draw in the Premier League on Sunday evening. Opening goals by Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah were cancelled out by a wonder strike by Mateo Kovacic and a late first half equalizer by Christian Pulisic.
Two of the Premier League’s heavyweights clashed in what was a great advert for entertainment and drama for football and the Premier League in a match that portrayed end-to-end action from the off.
Drama surrounded Stamford Bridge even before the game had kicked off in light of the recent comeuppance for Romelu Lukaku, following his comments of late. Jurgen Klopp and Alisson were also two big absentees for Liverpool due to COVID-19.
So, let’s get into our player ratings for this one in what was a highly entertaining match here.
Chelsea
Edouard Mendy – 7.5
Made a number of decent saves and clearances in what was a busy night for the Blues’ ‘keeper, stopping a number of chances from Salah and Mane. Looked confident in between the sticks and could not do much to stop the two Liverpool goals.
Trevoh Chalobah – 6
Made a costly error in the build up to Liverpool’s opening goal, failing to deal with a ball in from Jota with a poor diving header. Recovered, however, and made a few good challenges both in the air and on the ground.
Thiago Silva – 6.5
Fairly solid at the back here but did not do too much either in what was a fairly average performance.
Antonio Rudiger – 5.5
Struggled up against the speed of Mo Salah and was partly to blame for the Egyptian’s goal but did well in the lead up to Chelsea’s equalizer.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 6.5
Received a blow from Sadio Mane in the opening minute. Fairly average overall despite struggling with the Liverpool offense on the counter.
N’golo Kante – 8
Assisted Pulisic for the Chelsea equalizer. Played an excellent through ball in behind the Liverpool defense for Alonso at the start of the second half. Progressed the ball well in the midfield as he looked to drive Chelsea forward.
Mateo Kovacic – 8
Got Chelsea back into the match with a wonderful volley from outside the area shortly before half time. Struggled with the pace and intensity of the Liverpool midfield at times but got stronger as the game progressed.
Marcos Alonso – 6.5
Created a couple of chances down the left flank and also put in the free-kick that led to Kovacic’s goal. Also made a few interceptions.
Mason Mount – 6
Came close with a chance as the chaos from the opening forty five came to a close. However, was not that influential throughout and has certainly had much better games.
Christian Pulisic – 7.5
Glorious chance early on when he picked the ball up following an error at the back by Trent but could not score past Kelleher. However, scored the Chelsea equalizer just before half time with an excellent finish. Had a few decent opportunities throughout and was the hosts’ most dangerous forward.
Kai Havertz – 5
Was not involved too heavily here as he struggled to get into the match. The German has had much better days in a blue shirt but did well in the press at times.
Substitutions
Jorginho – 6
Subbed on to give Chelsea more control in the midfield battle.
Callum Hudson-Odoi – N/A
Liverpool
Caoimhin Kelleher – 7
Did well to deny Pulisic after an error by Trent. Looked solid and could not do anything about the wonder strike by Kovacic nor the Pulisic equaliser.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 6.5
Error after opening five minutes which led to Pulisic to be on goal, fortunate not to have seen his side go one down. Played a fantastic ball in behind in the build-up to Liverpool’s second goal. Linked-up excellently with Mo Salah throughout.
Ibrahima Konate – 6
Pace helped bail Liverpool out a number of times here but not the best of performances for the Liverpool defense in general.
Virgil Van Dijk – 6
Did not look at his best here as Chelsea were dangerous going forward and perhaps could have been quicker to cover Pulisic for his goal.
Konstantinos Tsimikas – 6
Provided ample cover for the absent Andrew Robertson. Made a couple of decent challenges and interceptions.
Fabinho – 5.5
Not the best of performances as Kante and Kovacic got one over the Brazilian in the midfield battle. Lost 10 duels and failed to successfully complete a tackle.
Jordan Henderson – 5
Sloppy in possession and was not involved enough to stop the midfield threat from Kante and Kovacic. Poor performance by Henderson here.
James Milner – 5
Battled hard in the midfield as ever and was not afraid to put a foot in as the 35-year-old veteran continues to perform at the elite level. However, conceded a poor free-kick which led to Chelsea pulling a goal back through Kovacic.
Mohamed Salah – 8
Provided a threat with his speed up against the Chelsea defense throughout. Scored Liverpool’s second goal with a sublime finish after making an excellent run in behind the Chelsea defense. Top performance once again from the Egyptian.
Diogo Jota – 4
Struggled to get much going here for Liverpool as he was inaccurate with his passing, lost 12 duels in the match and also lost possession three times. Poor performance before being replaced by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Sadio Mane – 7
Opened the scoring after he capitalised on an error at the back by Chalobah. Kept his composure excellently to take the ball around Mendy before slotting home. Had a few chances throughout and could have scored more on another day, but does not look at his best.