Chelsea got back to winning ways by defeating newly promoted Huddersfield Town at the Kirklees Stadium on Tuesday.
Tiemoue Bakayoko broke the deadlock in the 23th minute while William and Pedro put the game out of the hosts’ reach before they responded in the dying stages.
The victory saw the Blues move to within three points of second-placed Manchester United.
Here is how the players performed:
Thibaut Courtois – 6.0
The Spaniard had little to do as Huddersfield could not apply enough pressure. He was beaten in the dying stages of the game by Laurent Depoitre’s superb header, but by then the game had been decided.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 6.5
The Spaniard had a decent game in the defence line. He cut off supply well, making timely blocks to prevent the hosts from crossing the ball from the right.
Andreas Christensen – 6.5
The Danish defender extended his fine form, serving as the heart of Chelsea’s defence. He tracked oppositional players well and intercepted a number of loose balls to end Huddersfield’s attacks. He showed good reading of the game.
Antonio Rudiger – 6.5
The center half had a decent game. Apart from doing his defensive responsibilities, he channeled the ball forward and made decent passes in midfield.
Victor Moses – 6.0
The Nigerian showed quick feet and good ball control throughout the 90 minutes. He offered his team options of going forward and was spot on in defence.
Marcos Alonso – 6.5
The left wing-back was superb going forward. He offered the Blues width in attack and provided the cross for William’s goal near the half-time break.
Tiemoue Bakayoko – 7.0
The French man asserted himself in midfield. He offered presence in the middle coupled with some decent passes to keep the game flowing. He showed great movement inside the box to give Chelsea the lead after receiving the ball from William.
N’Golo Kante – 6.5
The diminutive defensive midfielder had a decent game in the middle. He offered urgency and dynamism in midfield from which Hazard benefited. He made a couple of good passes as well.
Eden Hazard – 7.5
The Belgian superstar was excellent as per usual. He was a threat to the hosts’ defence and was difficult to mark. He made some nice flicks towards his teammates and was very unselfish on the right.
Willian – 8.0
Willian has done well to cement his place in Antonio Conte’s starting line-up sheet. The Brazilian scored a goal and assisted for the other two. He also offered Chelsea defensive aid as he tracked back to close the opposition down.
Pedro Rodriguez – 7.0
Pedro was heavily involved in Chelsea’s attacking moves and got himself a goal after a lay-off from William in the 50th minute.
Substitutes:
Michy Batshuayi 4.0
The striker replaced Hazard but could not do much in the remaining 20 minutes. He was caught offside on occasion.
Danny Drinkwater – 3.5
The former Leicester man came in for Kante in the 70th minute.
Ethan Ampadu – 3.0
Conte gave the youngster his first ten-minute bite of Premier League football. But his iintroduction somehow interupted Chelsea’s cohesion at the back as they conceded in the 92th minute. He should have done better with his man-marking responsibilities.
