Chelsea versus Liverpool player ratings: Mostly heroes when needed

A scintillating encounter between Chelsea and Liverpool ended 2-2 at Stamford Bridge to the delight of Manchester City. Till the very last minute, it was a breathless end-to-end highly entertaining game that started with Sadio Mane’s goal courtesy of Trevoh Chalobah’s absurd decision to clear the ball with his head when it was not at all feasible. Then in the 26th minute, Mohammad Salah made it 2-0 through a world-class finish on Edouard Mendy’s near post.

Despite being two goals down the home side didn’t let the tempo down and in the 42nd minute, Mateo Kovacic scored a worldie from the edge of the box to bring the host back in the game. And after four minutes, Christian Pulisic equalized finishing a good chance past Kelleher to end the first half. The whole second half was the same, high-tempo end-to-end game but none of the teams could score to win the game as both the keepers made impressive saves to end the game all square.

Here’s how each Chelsea player fared against their title challengers Liverpool:

Edouard Mendy (Goalkeeper): 8.5/10

Playing his last game before the AFCON tournament, Edouard Mendy was one of the best Chelsea players on the pitch and kept the team in the game during the first half making multiple saves from the likes of Salah, Mane, and Jota. In the second half too, the Senegalese international was busy and made an amazing save from a long-range effort from Salah to deny Liverpool their third goal. Mendy will definitely be a miss for the team.

Trevoh Chalobah (Centerback): 5.5/10

Right from the start, Trevoh Chalobah looked nervy and out of sorts. Regularly heading the ball to the Liverpool attackers put the Chelsea defense under unnecessary pressure. For Liverpool’s opening goal, Chalobah made the absurd decision to head the ball clear when the ball was knee level high which put Mane clear on goal. In the second half too, the 22-year-old looked troubled by the likes of Jota and Mane. He was substituted by Jorginho in the 70th minute.

Thiago Silva (Centerback): 8/10

The Brazilian veteran defender regained his starting spot in the eleven after recovering from an injury and his performance today showed how much Chelsea needed him. Thiago Silva kept things simple throughout the game and helped the defense get out of dangerous positions. He kept the game flowing smoothly from the back despite the team conceding early goals.

Antonio Rudiger (Centerback): 7/10

Antonio Rudiger had a decent start to the game but should have done a lot better for Liverpool’s second goal by tracking back Mohammad Salah. Knowing the shortcomings of Marcos Alonso as a defender, the German defender should have helped the Spaniard more defensively in the first half. In the second half, Rudiger looked better and dealt a lot better with Salah.