Chelsea 0-1 Valencia: 4 players who disappointed for The Blues | UEFA Champions League 2019/2020

Chelsea and Valencia clashed at Stamford Bridge in both sides' first fixture of the season in Group H of the Champions League.

In what was a largely one-sided affair, Chelsea dominated proceedings but fell to a 1-0 defeat, with a 74th minute finish by Rodrigo enough to hand Los Che all three points, leaving The Blues playing catch-up at this early stage of the tournament.

Ajax defeated French side Lille in the other game of Group H, and the defeat to Valencia means that Frank Lampard is still without a home victory from three games played at Stamford Bridge.

While some players like Fikayo Tomori and Willian impressed even in defeat, others failed to pull their weight and did not live up to expectation in the game against Valencia.

Here, we shall have a rundown of four players who were the most disappointing in the fixture against Los Che.

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#4 Tammy Abraham

Tammy Abraham was muscled out by the Valencia defence

After starring in the Championship last season to help Aston Villa gain promotion back to the Premier League, it served as a no-brainer that he would return to his parent club Chelsea.

It was, however, a less than ideal start on his return for the 21-year-old as he missed the decisive spotkick in the Super Cup defeat to Liverpool. But in the last few weeks, he has risen from that early setback to become Chelsea's standout player of the season so far.

With seven goals, Tammy Abraham is the joint-highest goalscorer in the league. Given that he scored a hat-trick over the weekend, Chelsea fans would have been expecting him to transfer his red-hot streak to the Champions League.

However, that failed to happen, as the Anglo-Nigerian was largely on the peripheries of the game and was nothing more than a spectator in what was his Champions League debut.

This was not by no means his fault, as a congested Valencia midfield ensured he was devoid of quality service, but given his monstrous form, more was expected from Abraham.

He attempted just 12 passes all match long with a 75% accuracy, while he was bullied off the ball by Ezequiel Garay and Gabriel Paulista on the few occasions when he did get the ball in the Valencia box, with just one of his five shots in the game forcing a save from Cillessen.

It was a baptism of fire for the England International and Frank Lampard would hope he learns from this and returns to fire his side to glory.

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#3 Pedro

The former Spanish international offered next to no attacking threat

Pedro is one of the more experienced members of the current Chelsea squad, but has not started for the Londoners since their 1-1 draw with Leicester City on matchday 2 of the Premier League.

Against Valencia, the former Barcelona man was once again named on the bench, but he got a chance to enter the fray as early as the 15th minute after Mason Mount pulled up with an ankle injury.

Pedro is as capable of brilliance as he is of exasperating play in almost equal measure, and both sides of his game where brought to the fore in the match against Valencia.

For the entirety of his time on the field, the 32-year-old did not do too much of note other than a brilliantly lofted ball over the top of the Valencia defence which was expertly controlled by Willian but just needed better application.

Other than that, the former Spanish international offered next to no attacking threat, and did not make the most of the good positions he found himself in.

In total, Pedro had three shots against Valencia, with none hitting the target while just two of his six attempted crosses were accurate.

#2 Cesar Azpilicueta

The Spanish international has started showing signs of underperformance in recent weeks, making uncustomary errors, while also failing to keep up with the pace of the game on occasions

Cesar Azpilicueta was once hailed as one of the finest full-backs in the Premier League, and even amidst underperforming teammates, the former Marseille man could be counted upon to give his all on the field.

Azpilicuetta was the definition of dependable, and played every single minute of the campaign as Chelsea won the title in 2017 under Antonio Conte. It was no major surprise when he was made club captain following the departure of Gary Cahill.

However, the Spanish international has started showing signs of underperformance in recent weeks, making uncustomary errors, while also failing to keep up with the pace of the game on occasions.

Against Valencia, all of these problems were on display, and the 30-year-old's performance was particularly damning especially owing to his position as on-field leader.

Azpilicuetta found himself in a lot of space on the right in his position as a wing-back. But he failed to make the most of it, with just one of his six attempted crosses being accurate, while his positioning during attacking transitions also left a lot to be desired.

#1 Ross Barkley

Ross Barkley missed a late penalty for Chelsea

It takes a lot of confidence to successfully convert a pressure penalty in the dying embers of a losing match, and in terms of confidence, Ross Barkley was not lacking in any (or at least that was the impression he gave when shrugging off Willian's attempt to take the penalty duty off him).

However, it is one thing to be confident in your abilities and another to get the job done. Unfortunately for Barkley, he failed to score an 88th-minute penalty which would have handed Chelsea a draw, crashing his kick against the bar instead.

The England international has not been too impressive on the occasions when he has played this season and started the game against Valencia on the bench. His missed spotkick would do little to boost his standing in Frank Lampard's eyes and could put his place in the Starting XI under serious jeopardy.