Chelsea Player Ratings V Brentford: Three Players Get 4/10 While Four Others Get 5

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino wouldn’t have been happy with a draw before kick-off but, after how the game panned out, he would have been pleased to rescue a point from the match against Brentford.

The Blues were in control for the first 45 minutes but their opponents came out with a different attitude in the second half and they couldn’t deal with the change.

Pochettino’s side need to show more character when their backs are against the wall as they fold way too easily when put under pressure. Luckily, Axel Disasi was on hand to bail them out.

Press the next page as we give player ratings from Saturday afternoon’s match.

Goalkeeper and Defence

GK – Djordje Petrovic – 6/10 – – looked a bit nervous in the early stages with a claim on the edge of the box that some Brentford fans thought was outside of the area. Couldn’t do anything with either of Brentford’s goals.

RWB – Malo Gusto – 6/10 –  – put in a magnificent cross for Jackson’s goal but lost Sergio Reguilon in the build-up to Brentford’s equaliser. He still needs to work on the defensive side of his game.

CB – Trevoh Chalobah – 6/10 – a solid game from the defender who was making his first Premier League start of the season.

CB – Axel Disasi – 6/10 – – an up and down day for the Frenchman. Way too slow to react for Mads Roerslev’s goal but came up with a header from a corner to make it 2-2.

CB – Levi Colwill – 4/10 – lost a key aerial duel right before Yoane Wissa scored his overhead kick. Looked very uncomfortable against Roerslev and Frank Onyeka.

LWB – Ben Chilwell – 5/10 – the captain made no impact on the game which is disappointing considering he was playing in a wingback role which is supposed to suit him more.

Midfield

CM – Moises Caicedo – 4/10 – the Ecuadorian international was poor in the build-up to Brentford’s first goal, diverting the ball towards Roerslev to score.

Caicedo then got outmuscled in a one-on-one duel that led to Vitaly Janelt hitting the post. The midfielder was simply not good enough.

CM – Enzo Fernandez – 4/10 – completely anonymous. Some may say that he is tired but there were plenty of other players on the pitch who have played more minutes than him. Deservedly subbed mid-way through the second half.

AM – Conor Gallagher – 5/10 – didn’t seem to be up to the speed of the game, which is unusual for the England international. Tried to carry the ball forward but failed to affect the match in any meaningful way.

Forwards

CF – Cole Palmer – 6/10 – should have scored when he was picked out superbly by Gusto on the hour mark. However, he sidefooted his shot wide of the goal.

Palmer did redeem himself somewhat. He was alert for the short corner before delivering a superb cross to Disasi who headed in the equaliser.

CF – Nicolas Jackson – 7/10 – it was another typical performance from the striker. Some great moments and some bad moments.

How Jackson didn’t score after rounding keeper Mark Flekken only he will know, but he did make up for it with a superb header from Gusto’s excellent cross.

Substitutes

Mykhailo Mudryk – 5/10 – replaced Enzo Fernandez with 20 minutes to go at the Gtech Community Stadium.

However, the Ukrainian international struggled to make any real impact on the game. His cameo won’t encourage Pochettino to restore him to the starting lineup.

Raheem Sterling – 5/10 – Pochettino changed shape for the final 10 minutes as the Blues pursued an equaliser, with the winger replacing Colwill.

The decision proved to be the correct call but Sterling himself didn’t really get involved.