CHELSEA came from behind to beat Aston Villa 2-1 at Villa Park as Frank Lampard got one over old pal John Terry.
The Blues dominated possession throughout but were caught off guard when Kortney Hause slid the ball in to give Villa the lead against the run of play in the 43rd minute.
Olivier Giroud scored the winner for Chelsea in a 2-1 win at Aston Villa
Christian Pulisic scored the equaliser before laying on an assist for Giroud two minutes later
But two goals in as many minutes saw Chelsea hit back via super sub Christian Pulisic before Frenchman Olivier Giroud sealed a deserved three points for Lampard’s team in the 62nd minute.
Here Simon Phillips rates the Blues stars’ performances in their first game since Project Restart.
Kepa Arrizabalaga – 6/10
Made a few easy saves but other than that didn’t have a lot to do.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 8
The Chelsea captain was very solid once again and bagged two assists after putting in a number of good crosses.
Antonio Rudiger – 6
Like his Spanish goalkeeper, German ace Rudiger was not troubled too often as Villa sat back, but did what was needed when called upon.
Andreas Christensen – 5
Christensen was out of position for Villa’s goal, but apart from that did a decent enough job.
Marcos Alonso – 6
The Spanish left-back did what he had to but failed to offer much else.
N’Golo Kante – 9
N’Golo Kante bossed the middle of the park for Chelsea against Villa
Kante played as the deepest Chelsea midfielder, and although he was hardly tested due to Villa sitting off so much, he had a very good game and hit some great long passes.
Mason Mount – 8
Mount was Chelsea’s most energetic player and also looked the most dangerous in the attacking third.
He let a couple of threatening shots fly from distance that could have easily found the net on another day.
Mateo Kovacic – 7
Another good and energetic performance from Kovacic, he was Chelsea’s heartbeat moving forward with the ball but didn’t do anything too extraordinary.
Willian – 4
Played like a player who already has his eyes elsewhere.
He made some poor passes and wasted good attacking possession on a number of occasions.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 6
Played out wide on the left where he isn’t naturally comfortable, struggled at times but had some good touches.
Olivier Giroud – 6
Scored a good goal to put Chelsea in the lead, but other than that didn’t make much of an impact in general play.
Pulisic found the roof of the net to make an instant impact off the bench
Subs
Christian Pulisic (for Loftus-Cheek, 53) – 8
Instant impact to score Chelsea’s equaliser and was pivotal in the second goal.
Ross Barkley (for Kovacic, 53) – 5
Was pretty quiet after coming on but made some good touches.
Tammy Abraham (for Giroud, 80) – N/A
Not enough time to make an impact against his old side.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
