Chelsea fell to their second home defeat of the season as Manchester City got the better of the Premier League champions.
Kevin De Bruyne scored the only goal of the game at Stamford Bridge in the second half.
The Blues were forced to defend resiliently but were unable to hold on for a point.
After the result, we’ve dished out some player ratings from the defeat.
Thibaut Courtois – 7
The Belgian made a number of good saves to keep Chelsea in the game, not much he could have done for the goal.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 6
On the whole, Chelsea didn’t defend badly and Azpilicueta was key to that. Shifted to right wing-back to try and keep City at bay, Azpilicueta did what was asked of him, but he does limit the attacking opportunities as a wing-back.
Antonio Rudiger – 5
Looked uncomfortable throughout the game. Showed a few glimpses of brilliance with a great block on the line, but overall, he struggled.
Andreas Christensen – 7
It was another strong performance from Christensen, as Chelsea did manage to limit the number of clear-cut chances City had.
Gary Cahill – 6
Cahill was another who was forced to defend very deep and didn’t do too much wrong in the grand scheme of things. Chelsea invited a lot of pressure on themselves and with all that considered, they were lucky to only concede the one goal.
Marcos Alonso – 6
Alonso fell victim to the formation slightly. He didn’t have an out ball with Eden Hazard playing centrally, so Chelsea failed to get going on several occasions.
N’Golo Kante – 6.5
He was his hard-working self as ever and at times became Chelsea’s biggest attacking threat in the box with his late runs.
Cesc Fabregas – 6
His passing was a little off during periods of the game, but he did also have flashes of brilliance. Was forced to change his game when Morata went off and he lost the out ball. Unfortunately, Fabregas becomes a passenger in midfield when he cannot utilise his brilliant range of passing.
Tiemoue Bakayoko – 6.5
Struggled to cope with City’s midfield to begin with but grew into the game as the match went on.
Eden Hazard – 6.5
He was asked to do a lot of the dirty work after Morata went off and it took the shine away from his return. Hindsight suggests Batshuayi should have come on for Morata, which would have given the Belgian some more freedom.
Alvaro Morata – 7
The Spaniard looked just as good during his 35 minutes of action as he did in Madrid. He gave a Chelsea a focus up front and his injury completely changed the game for the champions.
Willian – 6
Gave Chelsea another option going forward but he played a very similar role to Eden Hazard and it caused more problems than it solved.
Michy Batshuayi – 5
Came off the bench too late to make an impact and should have been brought on for Morata.
Pedro – 5
Came on with just over 15 minutes left to play and struggled to make any form of impact on the game.
