Chelsea ratings: Kepa has a mixed afternoon after recall but Jorginho’s on song
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CHELSEA recalled Kepa Arrizabalaga following his incredible substitution row in the Carabao Cup final during their win over Fulham today.
The Blues No1 endured a mixed afternoon, with Jorginho in fine fettle... but how did the rest of the squad perform at Craven Cottage.
KEPA ARRIZABALAGA
RECALLED after his sub storm, he made an horrific blunder in the first half, only saved by Ryan Babel turning his back on an awful spill from a simple cross.
Made a superb save moments after Chelsea's opener to prevent Aleksandar Mitrovic's volley finding the top corner, before making an important stop in the 89th-minute from the same player.
CESAR AZPILICUETA
GREAT first-time cross to allow Gonzalo Higuain to rifle home the first goal of the game.
Another great cross nearly led to a third Chelsea goal, only for a ferocious Higuain shot to be saved, in a near-carbon copy of the opener.
ANTONIO RUDIGER
CONTINUES to shine in the heart of the Blues' back-four, Rudiger's interceptions and ability to defend without the need to tackle was impressive.
Fulham look to make some late pressure count, but the German helped keep them at bay.
ANDREAS CHRISTENSEN
ALERT in defence and rarely troubled individually, but Chelsea's back-four looked disjointed at times.
Hardly a surprise given how rarely these four have played together... but it showed as Calum Chambers was left completely unmarked to equalise for Fulham.
EMERSON
ALWAYS looks lively when overlapping down the left flank, but often caught out of position in defence.
Was caught ball-watching in the second-half, allowing Ryan Sessegnon to rifle in a dangerous cross, well saved by Kepa.
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N'GOLO KANTE
ONCE again played out of position, Kane is always a threat and such a good player to have in the team.
Energetic in both attack and defence, it might not be his favourite spot on the pitch, but he continues to give his all.
JORGINHO
SCORED a superb, composed goal to restore the lead for Chelsea in the first-half.
Looked assured in midfield throughout the game. Replaced by Mateo Kovacic in the second-half.
ROSS BARKLEY
KEPT Chelsea ticking over in the middle of the park - but fans will wonder if perhaps Ruben Loftus-Cheek offers more threat.
Curled one inches over the bar early in the game.
WILLIAN
CAME to life early in the second-half after a quiet first 45 minutes, but missed a couple of chances from tight angles.
Played the full 90 minutes and would have hoped to have made a bigger impact.
EDEN HAZARD
USUAL trickery left defenders for dead before laying the ball off to Jorginho for his superb goal.
Always a danger whenever he got the ball in the box and flummoxed Fulham's defenders time after time.
GONZALO HIGUAIN
SCORED the first for Chelsea after a shocking opening five minutes, with a smart first-time finish.
Spurned a great early chance nodding a free header miles wide, before losing control in the box with the goal gaping moments later.
Missed a ridiculously open opportunity to make it 3-1 on the half-hour mark too, firing miles over.
SUBS
MATEO KOVACIC (for Jorginho, 68 mins) - Failed to impact the game in any meaningful way... probably shocked to have replaced someone other than Barkley.
PEDRO (for Eden Hazard, 74 mins) - Looked lively on the rare occasion he had to be on the ball, but didn't have enough time to stamp his authority on the game.
RUBEN LOFTUS-CHEEK (for Ross Barkley, 78 mins) - Wonderful, surging run into the box in his brief cameo, but lost the ball before he could get a shot off.