Erik ten Hag said he wanted to substitute his entire Manchester United team at half-time after a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Brentford.
Manchester United conceded four times in the first 35 minutes at the Gtech Community Stadium and ended the day at the bottom of the Premier League table.
– Man United hit new low after dismal loss against brilliant Brentford – Notebook: United told Ten Hag to lower expectations – Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access
Ten Hag replaced Luke Shaw, Lisandro Martinez and Fred after a dismal first-half performance but the Dutchman, who is the first United manager to lose his first two competitive games since John Chapman in 1921, said he wished he could have axed his whole starting XI.
“I subbed three but I could’ve changed them all,” said Ten Hag.
“We want to bring some fresh energy in the game, so not specific to the ones we sub because I don’t think that’s honest to them.
“I think we all have seen the game and I think Brentford was more hungry. We have to question that and we will do in the coming hours. You can have a good plan but we had to put the plan into the bin.”
Afterward Ten Hag faced questions about his tactical approach after his team were caught in possession trying to pass out from the back for Brentford’s second goal.
The United boss suggested he would not change his style after a second successive defeat but admitted his team had been “naive.”
“I don’t want to play from the back when it’s not possible,” he added.
“It was naive how we played today. You have to play more directly.
“We attracted them, the space was high up the pitch, you have to do that option but that is what we didn’t do. We will learn, we will have to learn, it’s not good enough and it’s not the level and the standard of how we want to act.”
It was a day to forget for David de Gea, who first let Josh Dasilva’s shot squirm under his body and then played a part in a shambolic attempt to play out which ended with Mathias Jensen making it 2-0.
“I think I cost three points to my team today to be honest,” De Gea told Sky Sports.
“After the first mistake and the second it was very tough for the team to get playing. It was a horrible day.
“We should react better but in the moment we are living now it’s tough every time we concede a goal. I should have saved the shot and probably the result will be different.
“We are not like other teams that concede one goal and they win 5-1 or 6-1. It doesn’t matter if they make a mistake. This is why I think today I cost three points. Because it was an easy save and it was 1-0 for them and I already feel the team was going down, down, down.”
Frenkie de Jong’s agents have arrived in Barcelona amid continued uncertainty over the midfielder’s future at the club, with Manchester United and Chelsea still pursuing his signing.
Ali Dursun and Hasan Cetinkaya, who also represent Barcelona striker Martin Braithwaite, flew into the city on Wednesday and are expected to hold talks with the Catalan club in the coming days over both of their clients.
– Why can’t Barca register summer signings yet? – The impact of Messi’s exit a year on – Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access
De Jong’s future has been the subject of much attention throughout the summer. ESPN revealed in July that Barca had agreed to a fee of around €85 million with United, including add-ons, while Chelsea are also interested.
However, the player has so far preferred to remain at Camp Nou.
Barca, meanwhile, have told De Jong that if he wants to stay, he must reduce his salary, although sources have told ESPN he is reluctant to do so at this stage.
Sources confirmed to ESPN earlier this week that Barca sent a letter to De Jong’s camp in July warning that the contract renewal he signed in 2020 under the previous board had alleged irregularities.
Sources close to the player said the contract is legal and claim the letter that Barca sent was intended to put pressure on De Jong to either accept a move away or agree to a wage reduction.
Barca’s board believe there were possible irregularities in other renewals signed at the same time by Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet.
However, the timing of Barca’s tactics has drawn questions as they try to raise funds and reduce their wage bill to be able to register their summer signings.
Despite that, De Jong remains happy in Barcelona with his girlfriend and scored in Sunday’s 6-0 friendly win over Mexican side Pumas UNAM at Camp Nou.
Still, the uneasy situation was highlighted when De Jong arrived at training on Wednesday and was subjected to shouted abuse by some Barcelona fans, who called on him to accept a reduced salary.
Dursun and Cetinkaya also represent Braithwaite, who has been told by Barca to find a new club. The Denmark striker was left out of the squad for the tour of the United States last month and has not featured in preseason.
Braithwaite, 31, was even jeered by Barca supporters before Sunday’s game against Pumas. Sources have told ESPN he is open to leaving the club, who has joined as an emergency signing from Leganes for €20m in 2020, but only if the offer is right for him.
Meanwhile, Barca continue to negotiate further wage adjustments with Pique and Sergio Busquets. Sources have said talks have gone well so far.
Both players, along with Jordi Alba, agreed to pay cuts last summer to enable Memphis Depay, Eric Garcia and Sergio Aguero to be registered, and they may have to do the same this year.
With Barca set to kick off the new LaLiga season on Saturday against Rayo Vallecano, none of their five signings have been registered with the Spanish league, nor have the new contracts signed by Ousmane Dembele and Sergi Roberto.
The club have so far sold assets worth over €600m and are now in a position to register some of their signings. However, a league source told ESPN more money must be raised — or wages cut — before Saturday to register everyone.
Timo Werner is on his way from Chelsea back to RB Leipzig after the two clubs confirmed a transfer agreement for the Germany international on Tuesday.
The deal — a permanent move for the 26-year-old — is reportedly worth in the region of €30 million, although various performance-related add-ons could be included.
– Mixed performances for Chelsea new boys against Everton – Tuchel: Alonso wants to leave Chelsea – Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access
“I’m very happy to be able to play for RB Leipzig again,” Werner, who has signed a four-year contract, said. “I had a great time here between 2016 and 2020, when we performed brilliantly as newcomers in the league. It was a dignified departure for me to leave the club as record goalscorer, but that’s in the past now and I’m looking ahead, because both I and the club have developed in the past two years.
“I had two great years at Chelsea that I’m really grateful for and were crowned with the Champions League trophy. The experience to play abroad in a new league really helped me and my career. Now I’m looking forward to the new season with RB Leipzig and above all to meet the Leipzig fans again, who mean a great deal to me. We want to achieve a lot and of course, I want to become the first Leipzig player to reach the 100-goal mark.”
Werner will be looking to get his career back on track ahead of the World Cup in Qatar after a disappointing two-year spell at Stamford Bridge.
He joined Chelsea in 2020 for €50m, opting not to take part in Leipzig’s rescheduled Champions League quarterfinal against Atletico Madrid — delayed due to COVID-19 — to give himself more time to adapt to English football.
Werner started well, scoring eight goals in his first 12 games up to mid-November, but managed just four more for the rest of the campaign as a loss of form and confidence set in.
Werner was completely left out of the Chelsea squad for the match against Everton as talks with Leipzig continued.
He has scored 23 goals in 89 appearances for Chelsea and although manager Thomas Tuchel is thought to be reluctant to part with the forward given the wider pressure to strengthen the squad, there is recognition the midseason World Cup has heightened the player’s fears over a lack of regular action.
Werner’s arrival follows Leipzig’s announcement on Tuesday that they had completed the signing of FC Salzburg striker Benjamin Sesko, who will officially join the club in July 2023.
“Timo Werner’s signing is a special transfer for us,” Leipzig technical director Christopher Vivell said. “We had a lot of great years together in Leipzig that saw Timo become the club’s record goalscorer and a Germany international. His return from him means a lot to the supporters because Timo was a real fan favorite and figure of identification for a lot of people .
“The transfer made a lot of sense to us, both because of Timo’s quality and the financial aspects of the deal. Now we want to build on the success that we started together and achieve our goals with Timo’s help. Not only does that mean qualification to the Champions League, but we also want to get as far as possible in the cup competitions.”
Timo Werner is on the brink of leaving Chelsea to rejoin RB Leipzig, sources have told ESPN.
The 26-year-old is expected to arrive in Germany for a medical ahead of a permanent move thought to be worth in the region of €30 million, although various performance-related add-ons are yet to be finalized.
– Mixed performances for Chelsea new boys against Everton – Tuchel: Alonso wants to leave Chelsea – Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access
Werner is keen to kick-start his career ahead of the World Cup in Qatar after a disappointing two-year spell at Stamford Bridge.
The Germany international joined Chelsea in 2020 for €50m, opting not to take part in Leipzig’s rescheduled Champions League quarterfinal against Atletico Madrid — delayed due to COVID-19 — to give himself more time to adapt to English football.
Werner started well, scoring eight goals in his first 12 games up to mid-November, but managed just four more for the rest of the campaign as a loss of form and confidence set in.
Chelsea signed Romelu Lukaku for a club-record €115m last summer in a fresh challenge to Werner, but head coach Thomas Tuchel began to favor Kai Havertz as his central striker.
Although Lukaku has now returned to Inter on loan, Chelsea beat Everton 1-0 in their first game of the Premier League season with Havertz leading the line.
Tuchel’s side are in the market for another forward, and Barcelona’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is among those under consideration.
Werner was completely left out of the Chelsea squad for the match against Everton as talks with Leipzig continued.
He has scored 23 goals in 89 appearances for Chelsea and although Tuchel is thought to be reluctant to part with the forward given the wider pressure to strengthen the squad, there is recognition the midseason World Cup has heightened the player’s fears over a lack of regular action .
It’s that time of the year again — you’ve done your Premier League fantasy draft and are now checking which picks have worked out and which have let you down. If you selected any Manchester United players, it might already be a good time to move them on.
The painful reality for United supporters and fantasy managers alike right now is that no members of Erik ten Hag’s squad would come anywhere near to making a Premier League Best XI. And that won’t change if United are successful in completing one of the most surprising transfers of the summer — any summer — by signing journeyman forward Marko Arnautovic from Bologna.
Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford against Brighton & Hove Albion was a disastrous start for Ten Hag in his first competitive game as United manager. The former Ajax coach will have known that he was taking on a big challenge when, earlier this summer, he became the fifth permanent managerial appointment since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013, but the manner of the Brighton defeat will have been a jolting reality check .
– ESPN+ guide: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, FA Cup, more (US) – Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (US only) – Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access
Ten Hag saw first-hand that teams such as Brighton, without even half of the financial might and historical power of United, can outsmart and outplay a club with such apparent riches simply by being astute and strategic on and off the pitch. But with United, it always gets back to the players because they simply aren’t good enough, and that decline in quality stems back to before Ferguson stepped down.
That said, when Ferguson retired after guiding United to a 20th league title, more than half of his team would have made it into a best Premier League XI. Manchester City and Chelsea would have had a couple of players each, too, but the likes of David de Gea, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Michael Carrick, Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie would all have earned a place among the outstanding Premier League team of the 2012-13 season.
Throughout the first 20 years of the Premier League, it would have been a similar story. United may not always have dominated the best XI, but they would at least have had two or three players in it. If you were to repeat this exercise now, how many teams would you have to pick before a United player would be selected? The best Premier League XI of 2022-23 would be dominated by City and Liverpool players. You could make a case for Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane being the one outsider, but the England captain might have to accept a place in the second XI due to the claims of Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah.
The second XI would again be made up by those City and Liverpool players who didn’t make the first XI, with maybe Kane and Son Heung-Min added to it.
The third XI? Probably full of Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal players, with West Ham United’s Declan Rice anchoring the midfield as a rare selection from outside the so-called Big Six.
Which takes us to the fourth-best Premier League XI, and probably where Bruno Fernandes or Christian Eriksen — and maybe even Cristiano Ronaldo — would find a place alongside those City and Liverpool players who didn’t make the first three teams. De Gea’s decline in goal since 2013 would see him nowhere near any of the top 10 best XIs, while the rest of Ten Hag’s squad are either so low on confidence — Harry Maguire, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho — or lacking in top- level quality — Scott McTominay, Fred, Diogo Dalot — that they wouldn’t be in contention either.
This is obviously a fantasy exercise based purely on opinion and everyone will have a different view, but what is clear is that Manchester United no longer have the best players. They are stacked with mediocrity and struggle even to get rid of those who are no longer good enough, such as Phil Jones, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Eric Bailly. It’s probably a statement of the obvious considering the club’s performances and lack of trophies in recent years, but it is also an important point about how the team has been run in the post-Ferguson era.
United would always challenge to sign the best players. They wouldn’t always get them, with Alan Shearer, Ronaldinho and Eden Hazard being three of the most high-profile players to reject a move to Old Trafford, but they had the ambition to pursue them and, more often than not, they beat a big rival to sign a Ferdinand, a Rooney or a Van Persie.
Romelu Lukaku was probably the last high-profile player that United signed ahead of a Big Six rival, with the Everton forward rejecting Chelsea to move to Old Trafford in 2017. Since then, a failure to close the deal has been seen United miss out on the likes of Haaland, Jude Bellingham, Darwin Nunez and, potentially this summer, Frenkie de Jong.
Joining United is now seen as a risky move by the best players. Why go to Old Trafford when the club is in such a state of flux, with fans protesting against the owners and the trophy cabinet beginning to gather dust?
That is the challenge facing Ten Hag. He not only has to build a winning team, but make the club an attractive proposition for new players to join. But it is a long way back, and it’s difficult to predict when United will have a player in the Premier League Best XI again.
Socceroos captain and goalkeeper Mat Ryan has moved from Spain to Denmark in search of regular first-team football ahead of this year’s World Cup.
Ryan, 30, has left La Liga club Real Sociedad to join Danish Superliga champions FC Copenhagen on a two-year deal.
“I’m really looking forward to becoming part of a big club like FC Copenhagen, which has a fantastic reputation throughout Europe,” Ryan said in a club statement.
“The team has great quality and the ambitions for the club are high in terms of winning titles and competing in the biggest tournaments in Europe. I will work hard to contribute to that.”
Ryan signed with Real Sociedad in July last year following a spell at English Premier League club Arsenal, where he was on loan from Brighton.
However, he only made nine appearances in all competitions last season, playing second fiddle to Sociedad’s first-choice gloveman Alex Remiro.
With the World Cup starting in November, Ryan could ill afford further time on the bench, and jumped at the chance to join FC Copenhagen, who recently lost goalkeeper Kamil Grabara to a serious facial injury.
FC Copenhagen sporting director Peter Christiansen said: “After Kamil Grabara’s injury, we have been looking for an addition to the goalkeeper position, and we are very satisfied with the solution, which both in the short and long term ensures increased competition and quality in that position.
“Maty has played many games in some of the world’s biggest leagues and still has plenty of hunger to do well at FC Copenhagen and for Australia in the World Cup.
“We are looking forward to having him in the team and are sure that he will strengthen our squad.”
Manchester United are in talks to sign Benjamin Sesko and Marko Arnautovic, sources have told ESPN.
United have made contact with Bologna about former Stoke and West Ham striker Arnautovic after Erik ten Hag pressed the club to sign an experienced forward who would be content with a back up role off the bench.
– Dawson: Familiar flaws on display as Ten Hag’s United lose opener
Arnautovic is 33-years-old and sources have told ESPN that Ten Hag is a fan of his character after working together during his time as a coach at FC Twente.
Sources have told ESPN that the move for Arnautovic is considered separate to the move for Benjamin Sesko and that talks remain ongoing with FC Salzburg for the 19-year-old forward.
Chelsea are also interested in Sesko, although sources have told ESPN that Salzburg would rather keep him until next summer. United are hopeful of adding at least one attacker to the squad before the transfer deadline on Sept. 1.
Anthony Martial is injured and Cristiano Ronaldo is still building up his fitness after a summer away from the squad while he dealt with a family issue.
Ronaldo was only named among the substitutes for the 2-1 defeat to Brighton at Old Trafford on Sunday with Ten Hag forced to use midfielder Christian Eriksen as a false No. 9.
Ten Hag was asked after the match about the need for new players but the Dutchman refused to give anything away.
“I don’t go into names and I think in this preseason 250 players are involved or linked with Man United, so that’s it,” he said. “We have two strikers [Ronaldo and Martial] maybe a third one, [Marcus] Rashford.
“We considered him as a striker, but he had a really good season on the left side and he had two really good chances but the typical nine wasn’t available today.”
Former Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney has said that the club must let Cristiano Ronaldo leave if they are to build a successful team for the future under new manager Erik ten Hag.
The 37-year-old Ronaldo, who re-signed for United from Juventus last season, reportedly wants to move away from Old Trafford after the team’s failure to qualify for the Champions League.
– Premier League team-by-team guide and burning questions – O’Hanlon: Ranking the Premier League’s best players (E+) – Premier League kit ranking: Which jerseys are 2022-23’s best?
“I think United should let Cristiano Ronaldo go. It’s not that Ronaldo can’t play in a Ten Hag team. He can play in any team,” Rooney, who now manages Major League Soccer side DC United, wrote in a column for the Times.
“Ronny will always score you goals. But my personal view is that United aren’t ready to challenge for the title now, so the aim has to be to build a team that can win the league in the next three to four years, and you have to plan for that.”
United kick off their Premier League campaign at home to Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday and Ronaldo was named on the bench.
He netted 24 times in all competitions last season, emerging as one of the few bright sparks in an otherwise forgettable campaign for United that saw them finish sixth.
Ten Hag this week said he was happy to have a “top striker” like Ronaldo in the squad and looking forward to working with him.
Rooney, who is United’s all-time leading scorer, added he was hopeful that Ten Hag would be able to establish a clear playing style at his former club.
“I couldn’t work out what they were trying to do in terms of game plan, or see any patterns of play,” Rooney said of last season.
“I think one of the big things you’ll see from Ten Hag is him really trying to put his stamp on the playing identity.”
LONDON — Fulham showed they don’t want to be in the Premier League just to make up the numbers again as they came close to beating Liverpool at Craven Cottage, with the game finishing as a 2-2 draw..
– Report: Fulham 1-0 Liverpool | Premier League table | Next Prem fixtures
Aleksandar Mitrovic, who scored 43 goals in the Championship last season, showed that at the age of 27 he might finally be ready for the Premier League. After heading home the first goal, he then won and converted a penalty to make sure the home side collected a point.
Liverpool had to rely on the old and the new, as Darwin Nunez scored their first equalizer and Mohamed Salah netted the second — and they assisted each other’s goals.
JUMP TO: Player ratings | Best/worst performers | Highlights and notable moments | Post match quotes | Keystats | Upcoming fixtures
rapid reaction
Liverpool risk losing early ground
It feels almost absurd to suggest this on the opening day of the season, but such are the standards Liverpool and Manchester City have set in recent times that dropping two points at Fulham represents an early blow in the title race.
Jurgen Klopp’s side lost only two games in the league last season and were twice behind at Craven Cottage, showing admirable tenacity to fight back.
City have a tough-looking opener at West Ham United on Sunday, but they now have a chance to establish an early advantage over their closest rivals. Liverpool spent so much of last season chasing City — the last thing they want is that same feeling early in the new campaign.
– ESPN+ guide: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, FA Cup, more (US) – Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (US only) – Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access
Nunez cameo excites… but injury problems deepen
Nunez marked his Premier League debut with a goal and an assist to salvage a point and lift a Liverpool display that was badly lacking inspiration prior to his 59th-minute introduction.
Both were fortuitous: His goal, just 13 minutes after coming on, came as he tried an improvised flick, only for Tosin Adarabioyo to turn the ball onto Nunez with the ricochet flying past Fulham goalkeeper Marek Rodak. The 23-year-old’s assist for Salah’s equalizer came as he tried to collect Trent Alexander-Arnold’s forward pass only to touch the ball into the Egyptian’s path for a tap-in. But both moments were products of his movement and energy from him. It can only be a matter of time before it starts.
Klopp was concerned about Liverpool’s injury problems before kick-off — Caoimhin Kelleher, Diogo Jota, Ibrahima Konate, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kostas Tsimikas and Curtis Jones are all unavailable — and Thiago Alcantara may now be added to that list. The midfielder limped off six minutes into the second half with what appeared to be a hamstring problem.
Alexander-Arnold caught out again
There is no doubting Alexander-Arnold is one of the best full-backs in the world with the ball at his feet, but those nagging doubts about his defensive ability will persist after being caught out for Fulham’s opening goal.
Kenny Tete’s cross was superb, but Alexander-Arnold was not alive to the danger at the back post as Mitrovic squeezed a header past Alisson.
Liverpool finished last season by losing the Champions League final to a Real Madrid goal which owed plenty to another lapse in concentration from Alexander-Arnold. It is a lesson he needs to learn, otherwise further damage will be inflicted.
player ratings
Fulham: Rodak 7, Tete 8, Adarabioyo 7, Tim Ream 8, Antonee Robinson 7, Harrison Reed 8, Joao Palhinha 7, Bobby Decordova-Reid 7, Andreas Pereira 8, Neeskens Kebano 8, Mitrovic 9. Subs: Manor Solomon 6, Tom Cairney 6, Duffy 6.
Liverpool: Alisson 6, Alexander-Arnold 6, Joel Matip 6, Virgil van Dijk 6, Andrew Robertson 7, Jordan Henderson 6, Fabinho 6, Thiago 6, Salah 7, Roberto Firmino 5, Luis Diaz 6. Subs: Harvey Elliott 7, Nunez 8, James Milner 6, Fabio Carvalho 6.
Best and worst performers
BEST: Aleksandar Mitrovic — Can I finally do it in the Premier League? On this evidence, absolutely. All-action display: superb header for the opening goal and made Virgil van Dijk look ordinary to win a penalty for the second.
WORST: Robert firmino — His place in the Liverpool side is under threat from Nunez and there was little from the Brazilian here to suggest he should keep it. Liverpool were much more threatening when he went off just before the hour mark.
“You can’t always hug the boys — we do that usually when they deserve it,” Klopp told broadcaster BT Sport. “You start the game in a specific way which was the opposite to how we wanted to start — really, completely opposite.
“We got a point for a really bad game by my side, and now it’s a question of how did it happen. I said it to my colleagues, the attitude was not right in the beginning, then we wanted to fight back but you don’t ‘t find it easy anymore.
“We never had the momentum and yeah, we could have won the game because we had then the bigger chances obviously, but that would have probably been a bit too much today.”
Key Stats (provided by ESPN Stats & Information)
This is the only the second time that Liverpool has started a Premier League season with a draw against a newly promoted side. The other was in 2006-07 when Liverpool drew 1-1 at Sheffield United and finished third.
Darwin Nunez has now scored in both of his first two games since signing from Liverpool from Benfica this summer. He is the first Liverpool player aged 23 years or younger to score in a Premier League season opener since Philippe Coutinho in 2015.
up next
Fulham: The Cottagers will be on the road next Saturday when they head north to take on Wolverhampton Wanderers, then it’s the big local derby against Brentford at Craven Cottage on Saturday, Aug. 20.
Liverpool: There’s a behind-closed-doors friendly on Sunday against Aston Villa, with Liverpool next in competitive action on consecutive Mondays, against Crystal Palace at Anfield on Monday, Aug. 15 and a trip to Manchester United on Aug. 22.
Chelsea got off to a positive start despite a sluggish performance in the Premier League opener as they secured a 1-0 victory against Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday evening.
A quiet first half saw the home side enjoy the best share of the chances, but it was Thomas Tuchel’s side who took the lead after Abdoulaye Doucoure fouled Ben Chilwell inside the box for Jorginho to score Chelsea’s first goal of the season. The Toffees reacted well after the break as Demarai Gray found space inside the box before testing Edouard Mendy, and it was the home side who came close again to finding the equalizer but for some desperate defending.
Chelsea continued to struggle to create meaningful chances despite some substitutions that saw Christian Pulisic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek introduced, with a cautious approach preferring to resist pressure from the home side who lost patience as the game went on. Ten minutes of added time following a medical emergency in the stands forced Chelsea to remain resolute deep into injury time, and they were able to hold on for three vital, hard-fought points.
– Premier League team-by-team guide and burning questions – O’Hanlon: Ranking the Premier League’s best players (E+) – Premier League kit ranking: Which jerseys are 2022-23’s best?
Positives
Thiago Silva and Edouard Mendy were the standout stars for Chelsea on the day, with their vital contribution in helping to earn a clean sheet.
Negatives
Chelsea’s attacking play was predictable and poor too often, which saw them struggle to create chances from open play. Thomas Tuchel must also find a way to help support Raheem Sterling, who was crowded out by the opposition.
Manager Rating (out of 10)
4 — A win for Chelsea is all that matters, but Thomas Tuchel has plenty to work on after his side’s performance today. The Blues could have easily been punished, with their style of play not doing enough to support the attack, and that is something that must be improved in the next game.
Player Rating (1-10; 10 = best, players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK Edouard Mendy, 7 — A strong hand in the first half denied James Tarkowski from opening the scoring, and the Senegal international then palmed away Demarai Gray’s effort just moments into the second half.
DF Kalidou Koulibaly, 6 — The former Napoli centre-back looked positive at dealing with some defensive situations, particularly balls in the air, but an overall mixed Premier League debut for Everton could have been better with more care taken over some of his passes into midfield.
DF Thiago Silva, 8 — A vital interception that stopped a pass from Demarai Gray that would have created the best chance of the first half epitomises the 37-year-old’s defensive display on the day. Silva’s reading of the game set the standard for his team.
DF Cesar Azpilicueta, 6 — Azpilicueta kept things simple and didn’t look to make many mistakes, though he could have been closer to Thiago Silva in some moments when Everton were quickly breaking down the flank.
FM Ben Chilwell, 6 — The 25-year-old made the most of contact in the box from Abdoulaye Doucoure to win a penalty just before the break to earn maximum dividends from an instinctive run into the box.
MF Jorginho, 6 — A cool penalty saw Jorginho send Jordan Pickford the wrong way from the spot to hand Chelsea the lead. He had plenty of the ball across the 90 minutes but didn’t look to make enough interventions on the defensive side of his game.
MF N’Golo Kante, 7 — The France international broke up the play on a number of occasions. Kante was quick to stop the danger, while he kept things simple when transitioning the play forward.
FM Reece James, 5 — James regularly looked to stretch the play down the right flank, but Everton looked to counter his influence well by ensuring he was closed down. The 22-year-old picked up a needless yellow card for time-wasting before the hour mark.
FW Raheem Sterling, 6 — The England international enjoyed some promising moments in which he looked Chelsea’s brightest player going forward, but he was often left isolated and surrounded by Everton shirts.
FW Kai Havertz, 5 — An anonymous display from the Germany man who struggled to make any meaningful impact on the game.
FW Mason Mount, 5 — Mount struck a shot well early in the game to test Jordan Pickford in an otherwise quiet game for him. Astute movement helped carve a path for Chilwell to run through in the buildup to Chelsea being awarded a penalty.
Substitutions
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chilwell, 65″), 6 — A powerful run forced a foul from Vitaliy Mykolenko to give Chelsea a free kick in a dangerous area.
Christian Pulisic (Mount, 65″), 5 — The USMNT star came on for Mount just after the hour mark, but Pulisic didn’t get the service he required to make an impact.
Marc Cucurella (Koulibaly, 75″) N/R — Cucurella almost registered a debut assist with his well picked-out pass for Raheem Sterling, but the shot was blocked by Mykolenko.
Armando Broja (Havertz, 75″), N/R — Substituted in for Havertz for the final 15 minutes.
Conor Gallagher (Jorginho, 90+8″), N/R — A Chelsea debut saw Gallagher introduced for the final two minutes of the game.
