UCL 2017/18: Chelsea 3-3 Roma, Player Ratings

Chelsea threw away a two-goal lead and could only manage a draw
Chelsea threw away a two-goal lead and could only manage a draw

AS Roma

Edin Dzeko celebrates his second
Edin Dzeko celebrates his second

Alisson – 6 – The Roma goalkeeper was very unlucky to concede three goals, all goals he could do nothing about. His distribution was quick and positive, he was just unfortunately on the wrong side of some clinical Chelsea finishing.

Bruno Peres – 6 – Peres made a silly decision and gave the ball away in the lead up to Chelsea’s second goal, but he performed well and got forward well.

Federico Fazio – 6 – A fantastic ball over the top saw him get an assist for Dzeko’s equaliser. The Argentine found it difficult defensively at times but his passing out from the back was extremely good, emphasised by his through ball for Dzeko’s first goal of the evening.

Juan Jesus – 7 – Jesus looks to be a great replacement for Rudiger in defence. He dealt with Morata well, unlike most defenders this season, and looked to be very calm and assured passing the ball out from the back.

Aleksandr Kolarov – 8 – On his return to England, Kolarov put in an outstanding performance which even saw him score. It was a great run which saw him knock the ball past Azpilicueta before deflecting an effort past Courtois. He remained positive all night even got an assist too from left back.

Radja Nainggolan – 7 – Nainggolan was finding it tough in the first half as he was roughed up by Luiz and failed to do much in the final third. But, after the interval, he found lots of pockets of space and helped create lots of Roma chances.

Maxim Gonalons – 6 – Gonalons kept the play ticking over and certainly helped switch play well, which was crucial to breaking down Chelsea. The only criticism of the midfielder was his positional awareness defensively could do with some improvement.

Kevin Strootman – 7 – Strootman, like Gonalons, was very effective moving the ball quickly from side to side. A skill which eventually helped unlock Chelsea’s defence in the second half.

Gerson – 6 – Gerson, on his Champions League debut looked to be positive and made some good dribbles, but he was forced into long shots and blocked crosses a lot by Alonso.

Edin Dzeko – 9 – An incredible strike on the volley from Dzeko got his Roma team back in the game before a header from a Kolarov set piece gave Roma a deserved lead at Stamford Bridge. On his return to England, Dzeko showed what the Premier League is missing.

Diego Perotti – 7 – The Argentinian started off brightly and was unfortunate not to score early on after a brilliant individual weaving run. He continued to make a threat for the most part and gave the Chelsea defence lots of problems.

Substitutions

Pellegrini – N/A – With just 15 minutes to lay, Pellegrini looked to be a threat as a replacement for Gerson, but with his Roma side in the lead and happy to take a draw, he didn’t have much of an impact.

Florenzi – N/A – He replaced Strootman was seven minutes to go and continued to have his effectiveness of moving the ball quickly in midfield.

Stephan El Shaarawy – N/A – El Shaarawy only came on with three minutes to go and barely touched the ball.

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