Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images
Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images
Winstanley and Stewart for Chelsea
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by George Wood - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Photo by George Wood - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Image of Bournemouth's Alex Scott looking off camera during a match against Liverpool, with a news overlay about him potentially being on sale in January
Photo by David Horton – CameraSport via Getty Images
Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images
Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images
A graphic showing Jordan Henderson's match statistics (goals, assists, key passes and pass completion rate) against for Chelsea FC against Bournemouth. Image shows Jordan Henderson celebrating.
Credit: Photo by Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP via Getty Images
Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP via Getty Images
For the Chelsea fans upset with how Enzo Maresca left the club last season, Wednesday night was an enjoyable one.
They got to watch Maresca and his new club Manchester City lose 4-2 against Paris Saint-Germain. At one stage, it was a real horror show for the Italian, who witnessed his side go 3-0 down.
PSG have such an incredible team. To do that to the Premier League’s most in-form side is some feat.
The French club have so many good players, including Spanish midfielder Fabian Ruiz, who perhaps goes under the radar at times playing alongside Vitinha and Joao Neves.
Fabian Ruiz impresses for PSG against Man City after Chelsea links
Ruiz was actually linked to Chelsea during the summer as the Blues scoured the market for a new midfielder. In August, it was reported that Chelsea were exploring a potential deal for Ruiz, but nothing materialised in the end.
Luis Enrique will be glad that the 30-year-old stayed put, as he is a brilliant midfielder and showed that against City. Ruiz set up one of the goals, while his passing was pretty accurate.
How would you compare Chelsea’s sporting directors to their counterparts at other English clubs? Have they really been that bad? 🤔
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Literally! Only Brighton and Brentford and perhaps Leeds who I can think of who are run well off the top of my head, although they don’t have the pressure of a big 6
According to Sofascore, Ruiz completed 40 of the 46 passes he attempted, giving him a pass success rate of 87%. What was impressive about his passes was that half of them came in City’s half and reached a PSG player on all but one occasion.
The Spaniard also completed both of the long balls he attempted. Out of possession, Ruiz did not do too badly either.
He made six defensive contributions, making three tackles, two interceptions and one clearance. No PSG midfielder made more defensive actions than him.
The Ruiz ship has probably sailed now, with Chelsea prioritising Bournemouth’s Alex Scott again. Xabi Alonso could not get his hands on the 23-year-old in the summer, but he could finally land him in January.
Bournemouth’s stance has softened and they now seem prepared to sell Scott for the right price. It is thought that Scott is keen to join Chelsea in a boost to the Blues.
Ruiz would have given Chelsea control. Their games have been very NBA-esque this season, too end to end. But even if the Spain international was higher than Scott on their list, you would imagine that he would prefer to stay at PSG and compete for the Champions League trophy.