Yesterday Chelsea FC notched its seventh straight victory in all competitions. While we’re looking like a winning machine steamrolling all hapless opponents, the Brentford victory was anything but a procession. Yes, we hogged the ball for most of the game but The Bees looked capable of stinging us every time they broke forward. Here’s how this writer feels the players in blue acquitted themselves on their 16th Premier League outing this season.
Robert Sanchez: Hot. There were a few grumbles when the Spaniard was restored to the starting lineup following Filip Jørgensen’s performance in the midweek Conference League win against FC Astana. But the ex-Brighton Hove & Albion keeper vindicated coach Enzo Maresca’s unwavering faith with an assured performance. Only his fingertips stopped Christian Nørgaard from pulling Brentford level in the second half with a close-range volley.
Marc Cucurella: Warm. Maresca has seen Cucurella’s attacking strengths and looks keen on exploiting them. From the beginning of the game, the Spaniard made many runs beyond the Brentford backline, waiting for the right pass. Ethan Pinnock and Co. failed to come alive to Cucu’s dangerous forays and paid the price. He ghosted in to open the scoring with a deft headed finish. However, the wing-back took the shine off his goal, and his rating, by earning himself a stoppage-time red card with two moments of indiscipline. Now Maresca has a left-wing-back problem to solve before we go to Goodison Park next Sunday.
Levi Colwill: Warm. At 21 years of age, Chelsea’s next-generation Tiago Silva still has a lot of maturing to do before he fills the Brazilian’s boots. Like Cucurella, he appears to have been given an attacking brief for this game. There were more crosses from the center-back in the first half than from Jadon Sancho. It’s an aspect of his game Colwill will need to work on a little more; he fared better in his bread-and-butter defensive duties though he needed a huge slice of luck to avoid scoring an own-goal. To be honest, I don’t care much for a CB with precision crosses, but I’d appreciate one who can be as comfortable with the ball at his feet as Silva, and knows which net to put the ball in.
Tosin Adarabioyo: Hot. The former Fulham man is proving a very able deputy for Wesley Fofana. And I like the fact that he is less eager to dive into tackles or get into footraces with attackers than his French colleague. I like to think it’s down to the fact that he reads the game better. However, we did need him to get a decisive foot in to stop the through pass that set up Bryan Mbuemo’s late goal and he didn’t. To be fair, the goal was more the result of a collective defensive lapse than an individual error. Enzo Fernandez, Colwill and Adarabioyo failed to cover the gap left by one of Cucurella’s forward runs.
Malo Gusto: Warm. It isn’t the full-back’s fault that he’s not rated hot. Maybe Maresca’s tactics prevented him from contributing much in attack and Thomas Frank’s tactics meant he didn’t encounter much of an attacking threat down his flank.
Moisés Caiceido: Hot. Scorching hot. The Ecuadorian is revealing himself to be a reincarnation of the Claude Makelele who made me a Blues fan. It was from his tackle and pass that Enzo Fernandez was able to release Nicholas Jackson for Chelsea’s second goal. But even before that Caiceido had been putting himself about, intercepting passes and winning duels in the middle of the park.
Enzo Fernandez: Hot. The stand-in Chelsea captain again showed the mix of guile and grit that’s becoming his trademark. Working in tandem with Caiceido, he stamped his authority in midfield, helping us keep and retrieve the ball effectively. He gave striker Nicholas Jackson a platform to redeem himself from his horror miss with a sumptuous through ball.
Noni Madueke: Hot. If Pedro Neto wasn’t serving a suspension, Madueke would have had to make do with a substitute appearance. But he made the most of the opportunity Neto’s punishment afforded him, terrorizing Keane Lewis-Potter and Mikkel Damsgaard on the right flank. His sublime cross for Cucurella’s 43rd-minute goal was his most telling contribution to Chelsea’s win.
Jadon Sancho: Cold. Like Gusto, Sancho’s limited impact on proceedings could have been down to the coach’s tactics. With Cucurella storming into the Brentford 18 as often as he did, Sancho had to hang back for cover. It’s not a job he did particularly well. On the brighter side, were it not for Nicholas Jackson’s overly casual approach to Sancho’s cross, the ex-Manchester United winger would have bagged an assist. But am I the only Chelsea fan wishing they saw the same number 19 who tortured Tottenham Hotspurs’ defense last weekend yesterday? There was a moment he burst through and was in a great position to score in the second half but he annoyingly overcooked the footwork in a manner reminiscent of Joe Cole.
Cole Palmer: Warm. Our most creative player had a license to roam and position himself wherever he thought he could do Brentford the most damage. He used his freedom to good effect and brought out a great save from Mark Flekken in the first half. Busy as he was, the England international will admit this wasn’t his most effective outing.
Nicholas Jackson: Warm. Given the quality of the goal he scored, I’d have loved to rate Jackson as hot for this game. But the Senegalese had to spoil it with a shocking miss three yards from the goal line with no keeper to beat. Sancho will be the first to agree with my rating, seeing as he was denied what looked to be a cast-iron assist. Then there was that comical bicycle kick attempt at the stroke of half-time but let’s not go there.