Chelsea 2-5 West Brom; Players Rating vs West Brom

Individual errors and poor refereeing cost today as 10 men Chelsea humiliated by the relegation side West Brom at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea took the lead midway through 1st half but after Thiago Silva was unfairly sent off for a 2nd yellow, the Chelsea defense completely collapsed as the match went through. Even with 10 men, Chelsea showed their fighting spirit as they try to get back in the game but the defense of Chelsea was shockingly caught Multiple times by the counter-attack from West Brom. It was not acceptable to concede 5 at home even with 10 men especially to the side who is fighting to survive in the Premier League but it’s a wake-up call for Tuchel and the players ahead of some crucial fixtures. Needed a massive response for the upcoming matches from the team and here is the player's rating of the match as Chelsea line-up at their usual 3 at the back system.

Note;(GK-Goal Keeper, CB- Centre Back, LWB- Left Wing Back, RWB-Right Wing Back, CM- Centre Midfield, LF-Left Forward, RF-Right Forward ST-Striker, )

GK- Edouard Mendy – he was calm and composed with the ball and helped the team to play out from back compare to his previous matches. But his positioning for the 1st goal was questionable as he was lobbed easily by Pereira. And he denied Pereira to complete his Hat trick with a good 1 on 1 save. He couldn’t do anything about other goals he conceded as he was left exposed by the defense.   Rating- 5/10 

CB- Azpilicueta- not to fault for any goals Chelsea concedes but he didn’t have a good game as well. He is the captain of the club and supposed to be sorted out certain things that go on the pitch. But I saw no leadership yesterday on the pitch and him also the part of the defense that collapsed in the match. Rating 4.5/10  

CB- Thiago Silva – he could have done better with the 1st booking but he didn’t do anything wrong for the 2nd yellow as he just tried to block the shoot as he sent off midway through the 1st half. Even it was not a tackle from him but he unfairly booked for the block attempt but West Brom players get away with so many rough players in this match to show how poor the referee was this match. But his sent-off completely changed the game and it’s not a good return from the injury. Rating 3/10 

CB- Kurt Zouma- not a comfortable day for him as he looked rusty. And he completely caught out for the 1st goal as Pereira run behind him easily and also for the last goal the same thing has happened as Robinson runs behind him easily. And he also he didn’t cover Alonso as the left side of the channel exposed countless time by West Brom. Also, he should have scored as he misses a sitter in the 2nd half. He completely dominates aerially and won some tackles but overall not a good display from him.   Rating 4/10

RWB- Reece James-  provide a lot when he goes forward as he tested the West Brom keeper couple of times and defensively as looked solid for the majority of the match and not fault for any of the goals. But his decision-making was poor certain occasions especially he could have easily find Pulisic inside the box but instead of finding him James decided to take on the West Brom player and goes for himself which was a good attempt from him but he should have passed it to Pulisic on that occasions. And also in the 2nd half, he was caught out defensively a couple of times but overall he was one of few players who can hold their head up.      Rating 6/10

LWB-Marcos Alonso– has to praise him for the attacking contribution he had but at the same time have to criticize him for the defensive aspect of his game. Involved in both goals as his superb free-kick hits the post which was put in by Pulisic for the 1st goal and also he did well to stay onside and find Werner for Chelsea’s 2nd goal. But defensively he was torn apart by Mat Philips on the left side and also he was exposed for the West Broms 3rd goal as Furlong runs behind him and put in a cross for the goal. But overall he was not the worst player on the pitch today.       Rating 5.5/10

CM- Jorginho- Since Tuchel came to Chelsea this was probably the worst performance from him and showed why he was criticized by the fans previously. He was very slow and so many sideways passing epically for Thiago Silva’s 1st yellow card he gave away the ball as he passes directly to the West Brom player in the dangerous area and also he loses the ball for the 2nd yellow card of Thiago Silva. Fault for 2nd goal that Chelsea concedes as he poorly misplaced his simple header towards the West Brom player near the penalty box. He was lucky to be staying on the pitch for the 2nd half because of the Pulisic injury he gets away from being substituted at halftime. He did well for the 2nd goal to find Alonso with a nice forward pass which that he needs to be done that more on the consistent basics. But one positive will not hide from the whole craps from him today. He was one of the better and improved players for Chelsea before the international break but today he was awful.    Rating 3/10

CM- Kovacic- no one deserves to be the man of the match but Kovacic was the best player for Chelsea today. Even though he loses the ball couple of times in midfield but he was one of the few players who take the fight against the West Brom players. Especially in the 2nd half he almost single handily taking on the whole West Brom team with his brilliant break-up play and thriving runs. He had some shaky moments as well but overall the one player who gave everything on the pitch yesterday in a very difficult situation.  Rating-8/10 

RF- Hakim Ziyech- sacrificed on the 33 minutes of the match after Chelsea had men down. Before that Ziyech had a hit-and-miss match as he wasted some of the good openings to counter West Brom with some sloppy passes and poor decision making. But he also put in some dangerous crosses inside the box as the West Brom defense struggled to contain with his pace of the crossing. But unlucky to be sacrificed after Chelsea had a man down and also he needs to be much more than this for the upcoming matches.  Rating 5/10

LF- Christian Pulisic- the best-attacking player on the pitch as he looks lively in the 1st half. Also, he was at the right place to pounce back the ball into the net as Alonso hits the post from the free-kick. Unfortunately went off at halftime with a hamstring injury. Rating 6.5/10     

ST- Timo Werner - he did well for Chelsea’s 2nd goal as he stayed calm and set up Mount for the easy tap-in and also could have another assist as Zouma misses the sitter after Werner flicks the ball with the head from the Corner. but apart from he didn’t offer much as Chelsea searching for the goal. But it was not an easy situation for him in the 2nd half as he didn’t have any services from the players and also West Brom's defense did well to contain him. Also, his hold-up play has improved a lot in this match but he needs to do more than this to be the main Striker of the Chelsea Football Club.  Rating 6/10 

Substitution

Andreas Christensen for Hakim Ziyech – came on in the 1st half when Chelsea down to 10 men and part of the defense that collapsed since then. But he was not at fault for any goals as nothing went through the middle and also he put in some good tackles and passes in the match. Rating 6/10

Mason Mount for Christian Pulisic - Came on at half time for the injured Christian Pulisic and makes both good and bad impacts in this match. He completely misses his kick which leads to the 4th goal of West Brom but then he was at the right place to tap in from Werner’s pass. Then he works hard for the team and also tries to make things happen but it didn’t go for the team in a difficult situation. - Rating 5.5/10

Kai Havertz for Jorginho- came on for the last 20 minutes and didn’t make a meaningful impact in the match. He also easily loses the ball couple of times in this match. Rating 4.5/10

 

Manager

Thomas Tuchel- it’s a difficult one to rate the manager for what was going on the field. Individual errors, key decisions that went against the team, and injury to the brightest attacking player on the pitch. But he could have included Tammy Abraham in the team as he might give some threat and strength for a difficult situation or he could have bought on Giroud for the aerial presence in the team. But injuries and playing with 10 men for the majority of the match are not an easy situation for the manager and also he couldn’t do anything about the individual errors made by the players. What Tuchel has done so far cannot be forgotten by this defeat. Yes, it’s unacceptable to concede 5 at home especially to the relegation side but it’s just the first defeat of his era, I hope he and the players gets a wakeup call from this defeat, and the team will respond for the next massive game against FC Porto in Champions League Quarterfinal.     Rating 4.5/10