OLIVIER GIROUD scored the decisive goal as Chelsea beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
The Frenchman proved his class with a gorgeous bicycle kick in the 68th that needed a lengthy VAR review first.
Here are tonight’s player ratings from Simon Phillips…
Edouard Mendy – 5
The Blues stopper almost gave away a goal to Atletico early on with a very heavy touch, and some of his passing out was poor and risky.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 5
A few poor passes and dodgy moments on the ball from the captain who didn’t exactly look full of confidence tonight.
One of his poorer games in a Chelsea shirt.
Andreas Christensen – 7
Tidy on the ball largely in build-up play but he looked unsteady at times when under pressure on the ball.
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Antonio Rudiger – 7
Dodgy in a couple of moments defensively but contributed well in Chelsea’s build up play and kept his nerve under pressure.
Callum Hudson-Odoi – 7
Lively and making good runs in behind but frustratingly his team mates often over hit the pass to him.
He was always a nuisance to Thomas Lemar down that right hand side.
Mateo Kovacic – 7
Good energy, but he was often wasteful with his passes in the final third which has been a reoccurring issue for Chelsea.
Came off on 73 minutes.
Jorginho – 5
His passing was really poor and he was guilty of misplacing far too many simple balls.
Not his best game in a Chelsea shirt and he was sluggish defensively.
Marcos Alonso – 6
Some good contributions going forward but dodgy at the back.
A few good crosses but he stayed rather quiet.
Mason Mount – 8
He would have once again liked to have done better in the final third, but also once again he was one of Chelsea’s more standout players and threats in attack.
Timo Werner – 6
Looked very sharp and had some neat touches in dangerous areas.
Got one good shot off in the first half and creating the chance for himself.
Second half he dropped off a little.
Olivier Giroud – 9
Help the ball up well when asked and made some decent runs, but he really came alive in the second half to score a beautiful overhead scissor kick volley to put Chelsea 1-0 up.
SUBS
N’Golo Kante for Kovacic (73 mins) – 7
Came on an injected some needed energy.
Hakim Ziyech for Mount (73 mins) – 7
Few decent moments on the ball and some threatening passes.
Reece James for Hudson-Odoi (80 mins) – N/A
Christian Pulisic for Werner (86 mins) – N/A
Kai Havertz for Giroud (86 mins) – N/A
