Chelsea earned an important three points against Leicester City with an unconvincing 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge.
Despite plenty of shots, the Blues struggled to create many clear-cut chances besides Cole Palmer’s missed penalty.
Thankfully for Enzo Maresca’s side, Marc Cucurella came to the rescue with an excellent effort to give them the lead in the second half.
Here are The Chelsea Chronicle’s player ratings, with the Spaniard earning the highest score and Palmer the joint-lowest.
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Chelsea player ratings vs Leicester City
Robert Sanchez – 6/10
Robert Sanchez kept his place in Maresca’s lineup after the 2-1 Conference League win against Copenhagen and somewhat repaid the faith with a clean sheet. The Spaniard still didn’t look convincing, though, so who knows whether he’s done enough to leapfrog Filip Jorgensen in the pecking order.
Wesley Fofana – 6/10
Wesley Fofana did well in his long-awaited return from injury. He played right-back in Reece James’ absence through illness so has an excuse for not being at his very best.
Tosin Adarabioyo – 6/10
Tosin Adarabioyo is slowly becoming Chelsea’s most reliable central defender. Perhaps that says more about his competition but he’s always available and rarely makes mistakes.
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Levi Colwill – 6/10
Levi Colwill had little to do in the left centre-back role so it’s hard to give him anything other than a 7/10. The 21-year-old will face much tougher tests against Arsenal and Tottenham after the international break.
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Marc Cucurella – 8/10
Chelsea fans showed their frustration with the team’s methodical approach with moans and groans every time they turned down an opportunity to attack. Cucurella took matters into his own hands on the hour mark with a superb strike from outside the box to open the scoring.
Moises Caicedo – 6/10
It was clear to see that Moises Caicedo was wary of picking up his 10th yellow card of the season. He didn’t show as much urgency in regaining possession as he usually would, even pulling out of the odd challenge.
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Enzo Fernandez – 7/10
Enzo Fernandez outshone his South American partner in midfield as he continued his impressive run of form. The former Benfica man is starting to show why the Blues paid over £100 million for his signature.
Jadon Sancho – 6/10
Chelsea fans have demanded more from Jadon Sancho for quite some time and his display against Leicester won’t have changed that. He did win the first-half penalty, however, so it’s hard to be too critical on this occasion.
Cole Palmer – 5/10
Palmer’s perfect penalty record is now over. The Englishman had scored all 12 for Chelsea until his miss against Leicester, which rather sums up his underwhelming performances in recent times.
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Christopher Nkunku – 5/10
Christopher Nkunku was hardly noticeable on the left wing. He then moved into the number 10 position when Palmer was substituted and offered little there too.
Pedro Neto – 6/10
The Pedro Neto striker experiment did not work nearly as well against Leicester as in the 4-0 win versus Southampton. The Portugal international really did not contribute much to the Blues’ attack.
Substitutes
Tyrique George – 7/10
Trevoh Chalobah – 6/10
Josh Acheampong – N/A