The Chelsea winning streak came to an unfortunate end at Stamford Bridge on Saturday as the Blues blew a golden opportunity to jump into the top seven in the Premier League. They ultimately settled for a 1-1 draw against Stoke City after conceding an equalizer in the final five minutes of the match.
It was a competitive match from the get-go as the Stoke City & Chelsea defences fought tooth and nail to keep each other out of the box. But the Potters couldn’t preserve a clean sheet forever as Chelsea starlet Bertrand Traore made the most of a surprise start at forward to take the 1-0 lead into halftime.
The Blues defended superbly in the second half with Thibaut Courtois making several sensational saves. Unfortunately, a diving save at the 85′ mark opened the door for Mame Diouf to capitalize and get an equalizer to send both sides home with a 1-1 draw and one point apiece.
Here are the Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City from their 1-1 draw:
Thibaut Courtois – 8
Superb effort from Courtois. He was a fortress for 85 minutes and made several brilliant saves, but he ultimately succumbed to his own athleticism on the Diouf equalizer.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 7
The stats confirm that Cesar performed pretty well – tackles, passes and cleared balls galore.
Gary Cahill – 7
Solid game from Cahill, who even managed to get a couple of shots off in addition to four cleared balls and two successful tackles.
Branislav Ivanovic – 6
An unremarkable performance all around by Ivanovic.
Baba Rahman – 6.5
Good showing from Baba Rahman, with some shots, a tackle and several cleared balls.
John Obi Mikel – 6.5
Second leading passer on the team but was subject to a whole bunch of fouls.
Nemanja Matic – 7
Had an assist on the Traore goal, and controlled the ball very well.
Oscar – 6
Not exactly Oscar’s best performance during their last few matches.
Willian – 7.5
On target as usual, Willian had another fine performance with plenty of shots, plenty of corner kicks and kept the Potters off-balance.
Eden Hazard – 6
Difficult day for Hazard, who got defended well and was ultimately pulled just after the one-hour mark.
Bertrand Traore – 8
A fascinating choice to start at forward as opposed to Remy, but Traore justified Hiddink’s faith in him with a goal.
Substitutes:
Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 6
In for Hazard in the middle of the second half, limited impact.
Loic Remy – 5
Replaced Bertrand Traore, but showed very little eagerness to make a much-needed shot.
Cesc Fabregas – 5
Replaced Matic in the last 10 minutes, very minimal contribution
SEE MORE:
Tottenham player ratings v Arsenal: Kane steals the show
Arsenal player ratings from 2-2 draw with Tottenham
Video: Harry Kane’s sensational goal turns Arsenal clash on its head