Chelsea vs Aston Villa: Ratings & Tactical Disaster | Watkins Shines, Palmer Struggles

Robert Sanchez (7/10):

Could have sat back with a cup of tea for most of the game, but when he was called upon, the Spaniard impressed, making plenty of saves. Unfortunately, it was all in vain.

Reece James (7/10):

The captain returned to right-back for this match, having excelled in midfield in recent weeks, but that made no difference as he remained a force to be reckoned with in the first half. However, even he couldn’t guide his team to victory alone.

Benoit Badiashile (5/10):

Given the rare opportunity to be starter in the Premier League and for the most part handled Donyell Malen well, but a misdirected pass was pounced on by Villa and seconds later the score was 1-1. It’s likely there won’t be many opportunities in Chelsea’s back line next.

Trevoh Chalobah (5/10):

The defender was relatively untroubled for the first 60 minutes but, crucially, he was outpaced by Watkins for Villa’s equaliser. After that, he struggled to deal with the irrepressible English striker.

Marc Cucurella (6/10):

The curly-haired Spanish international was everywhere for the first 45 minutes but when Villa came alive he was repeatedly out of position.