OPINION
Chelsea were aiming to get back to winning ways against Liverpool in the EFL Cup on Wednesday evening after their 100% start came to an abrupt end against West Ham.
The Blues drew 0-0 with the Hammers at the London Stadium at the weekend and knew they faced a tough task instantly bouncing back to winning ways as the Reds still had their 100% record in tact.
However Chelsea accomplished their task of halting the Reds in their tracks as Emerson and Eden Hazard scored in the second half to see the Blues defeat the Reds 2-1.
Live 4 Liverpool have rated every single Chelsea player v Liverpool below from their 2-1 win, with woeful duo mustering only a 3/10 while one player stole the show in a 9/10 display.
Goalkeeper and defence
Willy Caballero – 7 – Did a good couple of saves before the half-time whistle in order to keep the scoreline 0-0. The score would have been worse if he wasn’t so good between the sticks on Wednesday.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 6 – Calm, was a reassuring presence in a worryingly fragile looking defence.
Andreas Christensen – 4 – Solid header from a corner in the third minute. Let Shaqiri get the better of him more and more as game went on. Became a walking mistake.
Gary Cahill – 6- Calm and a reassuring presence in the early stages of the game, kept Sadio Mane at bay. However as the game went on, looked like his lack of pace would be exposed.
Emerson – 6 – Showed glimpses but needed to do more to standout in the first half. However took his chance to get his side back on level terms.
Midfield
Cesc Fabregas – 7 – The creative maestro deserved an assist in the 17th minute after playing a pinpoint ball in front of Alvaro Morata but the misfiring hitman fluffed his lines. The midfielder ran the show for the Blues.
Mateo Kovacic – 5 – Didn’t really standout, did most things well but wouldn’t have had his manager drooling over his display. Most noticeable moment was picking up a yellow card in the 49th minute for a stupid tackle.
Ross Barkley – 6 – Solid outing in the first-half at least, working hard for the team from the first whistle and was sweating buckets from the 23rd minute as a result. Made a mistake that gifted Daniel Sturridge a chance before the break. However kept going and was involved in his side coming back from a goal behind.
Attack
Willian – 3 – Wasted a free-kick in the 7th minute. Then was generally sloppy, no surprised when he was hooked. Scrapped a three for his performance.
Victor Moses – 7 – Had Alberto Moreno number and terrorised him in the first-half. If the Blues were going to get a goal in the first 45 minutes, the winger would have been involved. Moses was a constant threat and deserve praise for his performance.
Alvaro Morata – 3 – Awful miss in the 17th minute, Fabregas put a goal on the plate for Morata but he turned his nose up by firing the ball tamely across goal instead. The forward may have shown signs of life near the end of the game but given that he could have tied up the win way earlier, barely deserves a three.
Substitutes
Eden Hazard on for Willian (55) – 9 – Amazing solo effort to hand his side the win and deserves all the plaudits. Hazard made the most of the minutes and effectively won the game for his side and stole the show.
Kante on for Kovacic (63) – 6 – Made a difference once coming on but didn’t steal the headlines.
David Luiz on for Christensen (72) – 6 – Came on, looked better at the back than Christensen.
