Real Madrid 1-1 Chelsea;players rating and Thoughts about Timo Werner

The 1st leg of the Champions League with Real Madrid ends up in a 1-1 away draw for Chelsea as the blues now have the away goal advantage and the tie will be decided next week at Stamford Bridge. But how many times I’m going to repeat the same thing that we should have scored more than a goal? Real Madrid had more possession, Chelsea is the team that has been in so many good areas to create the goal-scoring chance but the end product was awful from some players today. Defensively apart from the goal Chelsea defend it solidly and attacking wise as mentioned because the end product lacked massively which caused the team from winning the match especially in the 1st half with the chances and openings we had, Chelsea could have killed the game off in the 1st 45 minutes of this tie. Yes, Chelsea has the away goal advantage but I’m hoping that the chances we missed in the 1st leg will not come back and hunt us next week in the massive and decisive 2nd leg against Real Madrid as the players rating of the match to follow down here.    

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, )

Formation:3-4-2-1

 

GK- Edouard Mendy – helpless for the goal as he nothing can do about that and as usual commanded his box well. Rating- 6/10 

CB- Andreas Christensen – could have stayed tight with Benzema for the goal but apart from that he continues his impressive form for Chelsea. Didn’t put a foot wrong in defense and also recovered well when Azpilicueta was exposed on certain occasions on the right side. Rating 7/10  

CB- Thiago Silva – another player could have done better with the goal as he lost his mark on Benzema and let him free inside the box. But same as Christensen, apart from the goal he defends it well and won his majority of the battle with Benzema. Played some nice and tidy passes to the forwards and also put in some good clearances and interceptions. Rating 7/10 

CB- Ruediger- superb assist for the goal as he put through Pulisic with lob pass over the Real Madrid defense. He also lost his header with Eder Militao which leads to Real Madrid’s goal as well. But again Ruediger was rock solid in the left side of the Chelsea defense as he dealt with everything he faced and also makes a couple of good runs with the ball to the forward.  Rating 7.5/10

RWB- Azpilicueta -    he goes forward well in them for certain spells of the match and also put in a couple of good crosses in the 1st half. But on a couple of occasions, he put the team into some trouble as he lost the ball on dangerous areas and also outpaced a couple of times by Vinicius Junior. At the same, he also defends it well against his opponent which is a performance of more hits than a miss from him. Rating 6.5/10

LWB-Ben Chilwell– defensively he was good today as he didn’t put a foot wrong but he was one of the players who lacked the end product massively. Chilwell was getting into some good areas but his final delivery was awful today as his crossing seemed always hitting the 1st man of Madrid’s defense. And also had a poor shoot attempt by him on his weaker foot but still, he could have done better with that. As I mentioned earlier he didn’t make any errors in the match but his end product was the main downfall of his game today. Rating 6.5/10

CM- Jorginho- saved Kante and his team at the beginning of the match after Kante misplaced his pass direct to Vinicius Junior but Jorginho intercepted and cleared the ball to relieve the pressure from the team. And also alongside Kante controlled the midfield calm and composed with his position. Again he could have taken the risk by playing ball more directly to the forward but still, he goes for the easy option. Players like Pulisic Mount all making the good runs and Jorginho should play the ball more directly to them which are my only criticism of him. Apart from that Jorginho did his job well today.  Rating 7/10

CM- Ngolo Kante- the only negative was he misplaced his pass in the opening of the match in a dangerous place but since then there was no room for mistake as he completely dominates the midfield and Kante was everywhere when Real Madrid had the ball as he stopped their progression to attack by forcing them makes the mistakes. Kante makes many driving runs to forward with a ball which creates a lot of troubles for the Real Madrid defense but again his end product also lacked on a couple of occasions which deserved better faith for all of his good work. He also had the match-high of 6 take-ons completed and also contested 21 dues which were also the match-high. His end product could have been better but this was another world-class display from and for sure this time official, fans man of the match would be the same and so mine. Rating 9/10 Man of the match

RF- Mason Mount- you know what kind of player he is when Kroos and Modric were struggled to contain him as he was beating and running past the Real Madrid players for fun. He did all the hard work which ends up In a great chance for Chelsea which should be in the back of the net, you all know who bottle it and I will get on to him in a moment. Now coming to back Mount as I mentioned earlier when the great players struggled to contain with him fans should know that we have one hell of a player in our hand. He helped Chilwell defensively and also put Chilwell free in a couple of good areas with his passings as Mount produced another impressive display for Chelsea.    Rating 8/10 

LF- Christian Pulisic- The brightest attacking player on the pitch as he scored the crucial and well-taken goal. The way he stayed calm and composed to beat Thibaut Courtois to score the goal was a joy to watch as well. Continues to trouble the Real Madrid defense with his dribbling and movements also he was fouled constantly by the opponents as they struggled to deal with him. He also could have set up a goal as well as his cross was a bit high for Werner but again his end product also could have been better in the 1st half, despite that Pulisic probably the best player on the pitch after Ngolo Kante. Rating 8.5/10 

ST- Timo Werner -    remember what I have said in my previous rating, he should not be missing the sitters because on the next day it could be costly and that day has arrived. People would say it was greatly saved from the Keeper and I also giving credits to Thibaut Courtois for his save but that chance for Werner was nearly from the 6-yard box and he almost shots near to the goalkeeper. For me, he should be scoring that and you should not be shooting near to the goalkeeper’s feet. Not only that he also should have done better with that Cross from Azpilicueta and also he seemed to be confused with his movements as he misjudges a lot of the passing from his teammates. Worked hard for the team but how many chances is Werner going to miss? Rating 5/10 

Thoughts About Timo Werner;29 big chances for him this season and he missed 21 of those as he only scored 8 of them, which is simply not good enough. I backed him so many time and for sure he is not a flop for Chelsea when you looks at the statistic which he contributes 21 goals this season (11 goals, 10 Assists) which is more than any other player for Chelsea. I also can understand that this is his 1st season for Chelsea, new league, new surroundings, and I’m hoping that he will improve for the upcoming matches but with the chances, he missing continually, many of the fans including me nearing to the stage of enough is enough of him for this season. If he continually missing chances he needs to be put back on the bench and time to give chances to Abraham or Giroud to lead the line. I would not go to the point that we will have to sell him because he deserves to gets another season but the crucial matches upcoming Tuchel have to play the players who are more clinical enough and Timo Werner seemed to miss that clinical. 

 

Substitution

Hakim Ziyech for Pulisic– came on for the last 25 minutes makes a couple of good runs and had a free-kick saved by Thibaut Courtois as he looks lively.   Rating 6/10

Kai Haverzt for Timo Werner - Came on for the last 25 minutes makes a couple of runs and hold the ball well to bring others into the game. - Rating 5.5/10

Reece James for Azpilicueta -   defend it well when he came on, also put some good and bad crosses inside the box with his 25 minutes cameo. Rating 6/10

Manager

Thomas Tuchel- Same issues, what the manager can do when the players were not clinical enough and missing sitters. Chelsea playing well and creating some good openings but the end product of the players is the issue for now and that’s the reason why the team not scoring too many goals recently. At the same time also have to question Timo Werner to the manager, how many chances he going to get to prove himself, and how many times he going to miss the big chances. Thomas Tuchel should now consider starting giving chances to Abraham or even Giroud because they deserved to get so. What Tuchel has done so far is massive and I’m happy with that, for sure we will get better and better for the upcoming matches. For today’s match, the tactics and game plan again spot on from him as if the players take their chances we could have won today. But with the away goal advantage Chelsea will face Real Madrid next week and there is no room for any mistakes for that game as the players needs to be more ruthless in front of the goal, Before that Fulham awaits in the Premier League and needs to get the result for that match to be in the pole position to finish in the top 4. Rating 7/10