The Blues beat the Red Devils in the marquee matchup of this Premier League weekend and it was a Chelsea performance that will be remembered for a long time to come. Alvaro Morata scored the only goal with a brilliant header in an extremely competitive game where both sides had chances early on. Chelsea started to dominate, scored their deserved goal and held out to secure the win and could’ve grabbed a couple more at the end. Here are the player ratings.
Thibaut Courtois – 8
A commanding figure in the Chelsea goal, standing big at every given opportunity and thoroughly deserved his second clean sheet in a row in the league. Made a vital save to deny Marouane Fellaini late on, getting down well to parry his compatriot’s effort from close range. Unlike the last few weeks, his confidence and vision in possession proved an asset to Chelsea’s display.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 8.5
An incredibly solid defensive performance from the Spaniard, dealing with the threat of Marcus Rashford in typical, combative fashion. The youngster couldn’t go around him, either with skill or with pace, and Azpilicueta blocked every cross that came his way. Provided an inch-perfect cross for Morata’s goal to reignite that productive partnership they formed earlier this season.
Andreas Christensen – 8
Apart from a turn and shot on the edge of the area, Romelu Lukaku didn’t have a kick and that’s mainly down to this man. He stayed tight to the big Belgian and won most of the aerial duels. Perhaps could’ve scored himself but his effort from close range came off his shoulder and flew over David de Gea’s crossbar.
Gary Cahill – 7.5
Nothing got past him, either on the floor or in the air, and he was comfortable and assured in possession which you can’t say about his game often enough this season. Didn’t get dragged out too far wide so Romelu Lukaku found his path to goal blocked by the big skipper.
Davide Zappacosta – 6.5
Tireless as he ran up and down the right wing. Solid in defence and threatening when going forward, he gave Ashley Young a very tough game and provided width – creating space for Cesc Fabregas to operate in.
Cesc Fabregas – 9
A world-class performance from Chelsea’s midfield maestro who exploited United’s weaknesses with his intelligence and class. Chelsea had more possession due to their opposition sitting back and Fabregas allowed the Blues to dominate the game and give them a creative spark from deep and in attacking areas. The Chelsea fans even saw Fabregas press and win the ball higher up the pitch and create chances from there – something you don’t associate with the luxury midfielder but he overall, he was superb.
N’Golo Kante – 8.5
Returned to the Chelsea side and made an instant impact to the way they played because of his versatility and ability to intercept and break up play. Gave the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan all sorts of trouble when they had the ball and he won it back on most occasions. His forward passing and creativity was incredibly important when the ball was turned over either by himself or a teammate.
Tiemoue Bakayoko – 8
Had so many chances to score yet still impressed with his power and pace in midfield. Exploited the space in behind Ander Herrera and Nemanja Matic and got many opportunities but failed to convert any of them. One of them in particular, where he leaned back and skewed the ball wide, will play on his mind.
Marcos Alonso – 8
Went up a gear or two compared to the last few weeks. Always an option on the left side and seemed to relish and enjoy that battle with Antonio Valencia, not allowing the Ecuadorian forward and had him facing his own goal on more than one occasion.
Eden Hazard – 8.5
A stunning performance from the little Belgian who, despite not scoring, provided the Chelsea side with sparks of brilliance to set up his teammates or to force De Gea into making a save. Drew so many fouls that a lot of Manchester United’s bookings resulted from fouling Chelsea’s number 10. Almost found the net late on but his shot could only find the grateful grasp of De Gea after Hazard had breached United’s midfield.
Alvaro Morata – 9
Produced a moment of absolute brilliance to put the Blues a goal in front as his head met Azpilicueta’s cross and the ball met the top corner of the United goal. Ran the United defence ragged and they proved no match for his quick link up play and pace in behind.
Substitutes
Antonio Rudiger – 7
Did all he had to do in order to keep a clean sheet and dealt with the aerial threat of Fellaini as well as he could.
Danny Drinkwater – 6
Provided a bit of defensive stability and had the energy to press the United backline, forcing them into mistakes.
Willian – 6
Gave the team some fresh legs for counter attacks and came back to sure up the defence.