Carabao Cup 2017/18, Chelsea 5-1 Nottingham Forest F.C.: Player Ratings

Chelsea

Willy Caballero - 6/10

Thibaut Courtois’ backup looked a little nervous early on, although he did settle down as the game wore on. Caballero will have far busier shifts than this – Forest only managed two shots on target.

Antonio Rudiger - 8/10

It was Rudiger’s cross that set up the opening goal on Wednesday, guided home by Kenedy at the back post. The former Roma defender was solid at the other end of the field and tidy in possession throughout.

Andreas Christensen - 8/10

Deployed in the centre of Chelsea’s back three, Christensen barely put a foot wrong all night. The Dane kept Forest's strikers under control and passed the ball out from the back well.

Chelsea v Nottingham Forest - Carabao Cup Third Round

Gary Cahill - 7/10

Cahill recovered after a couple of sloppy mistakes early on, to turn in an accomplished display. His reading of the game was excellent throughout.

Davide Zappacosta - 7/10

Zappacosta did not provide the same type of speed and directness as first-choice right wing-back Victor Moses, but he was solid defensively and used the ball well.

Cesc Fabregas - 7/10

Fabregas' range and quality of passing is well known by now, but he still has the capacity to amaze with his distribution. There were a couple of tremendous balls on Wednesday, although the Spaniard did fade - perhaps to conserve his energy - as the match wore on.

Tiemoue Bakayoko - 7/10

A dynamic, box-to-box midfielder by trade, Bakayoko played a more disciplined role here, often sitting deeper in the engine room and allowing Fabregas to wander forward.

Kenedy - 8/10

The Brazilian opened the scoring for the Blues with a beautifully controlled volley in the 13th minute and was a constant attacking threat down the left flank.

Charly Musonda - 9/10

The 20-year-old was superb in his first Chelsea start, posing constant questions of the Forest defence with his speedy running and mazy dribbling.

Michy Batshuayi - 9/10

Batshuayi scored a hat-trick on Wednesday, but curiously, he probably was not Chelsea's star man. His second was a tap-in and he did not know anything about his third, but the Belgian did all that was asked of him and more.

Eden Hazard - 9/10

Hazard was sensational on Wednesday evening, when he impressed with his immaculate touch and control in tight spaces.

One particular piece of skill drew gasps from the crowd as a trio of Forest players were taken out of the game with just two touches of the ball, while he later did brilliantly to set up Batshuayi for his second.

Substitutes:

Ethan Ampadu - 7/10

The former Exeter City youngster put himself about in the centre of the park and looked to get forward whenever he had an opportunity to do so.

Jake Clarke-Salter - 7/10

The centre-back was composed and assured after replacing Christensen, although he was not really tested defensively by Forest.

Dujon Sterling - N/A

The debutant youngster kept things simple on the few occasions he received the ball, but he did not have enough time to make an impact.