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Chelsea were made to work their socks off en route to a 1-0 win over Hungarian champions Videoton FC at Stamford Bridge on Thursday in the Europa League. The Blues enjoyed the majority of possession throughout but lacked quality inside the final third and were even under a bit of pressure from the visitors, who remained unfazed by the prospect of facing the Premier League giants away from home.
Marko Nikolic's men caused a few problems for the hosts early on through set-pieces before enjoying the occasional opening that they created occasionally against the run of play. The travelling fans made themselves heard in west London and even dared to dream of earning a hard-fought result at times, thanks to Videoton's inspiring display on the night.
Despite their relentless effort towards getting something out of the game, Videoton finally conceded in the 70th minute when Alvaro Morata found the back of the net from close-range after Willian had set him up with a neat headed lay-off. The goal did not force the visitors to change their approach as they continued to push for an equaliser, though Maurizio Sarri's men held their nerves to secure all three points in the end.
The result means Chelsea have made it two wins out of a possible two in their Europa League campaign thus far this term and will now face BATE Borisov in their next outing in the competition later this month. On that note, let's take a closer look at the best and worst performers from the game at Stamford Bridge:
#5 Hit - Loic Nego (Videoton)
Loic Nego, a natural defender by trade, started in midfield for Videoton on the night and was arguably their best player while going forward. The Frenchman was constantly on the lookout for the slightest of lapses in concentration from the hosts and was not shy of putting in the hard yards when Videoton chased an awful lot of the ball.
The 27-year-old would have ideally wanted to do better from his first opportunity on the night when he exploited the space behind Emerson Palmieri to get on the ball in a promising area but his effort was too weak and straight at Kepa Arrizabalaga, who handled the situation well.
That was not the end of it for Nego as he came back stronger in the second-half and almost opened the scoring shortly after the restart when he dispatched a good shot on goal that forced Kepa into making an important save to prevent the visitors from taking the lead.
Nego proved to be a real handful for the Chelsea backline on a number of instances and he could have even put them to the sword with a little bit of luck on the night.
#4 Flop - Miroslav Zelinka (Referee)
The match official from Czech Republic had a torrid time in the middle with respect to his decision-making and made a few controversial calls in the first-half. The first incident went against Chelsea when Ruben Loftus-Cheek was brought down in the area by Paulo Vinicius, who literally tumbled on the Chelsea midfielder while he made a driving run into the area.
Miroslav Zelinka was in a good position but refused to award the penalty despite taking a few good seconds to make up his mind and replays suggested that he got it all wrong as Vinicius had no intention to play the ball while he lunged at Loftus-Cheek, who rightfully protested along with his teammates.
A few minutes after the incident, Videoton were away on the counter and Georgi Milanov went down right at the edge of the area after a challenge from Gary Cahill. It initially seemed like there was not an awful lot in the challenge and Milanov had maybe waited to go down inside the area but on further inspection it was understood that Cahill did clip the midfielder's heels to bring him down.
Zelinka would probably look back at his decisions and admit that maybe he got at least one wrong if not both on the night - which could have completely changed the complexion of this affair.
#3 Hit - Roland Juhasz (Videoton)
The Videoton skipper started the game brightly after causing Chelsea a few problems from a corner early on. Roland Juhasz proved to be a standout performer on the night for the visitors as he continued to keep Chelsea at bay whenever they pushed forward for a goal.
The defender was a towering presence at both ends of the pitch, fighting tooth and nail to keep Videoton in the game during the first-half as the Blues continued pushing in their efforts to break the deadlock. Juhasz came out on top almost every time he went up against Alvaro Morata and the Spaniard cut a frustrating figure for the majority of the game, given the 35-year-old's commanding performance at the back.
It was a special night for him personally after returning to the stadium where he made his Champions League debut while he was with Anderlecht and Juhasz made it a point to not go down without a fight.
#2 Flop - Andreas Christensen (Chelsea)
The Chelsea youngster shot to fame under Antonio Conte last season but has been restricted to a bit-part role under Maurizio Sarri so far and the game proved to be the perfect testament as to why he must improve to stake a claim for a place in the starting eleven.
Andreas Christensen looked shaky at the back and gave Chelsea a few scares particularly in the first-half when he had a nervy moment with Kepa Arrizabalaga before allowing Loic Nego a free shot at goal, which the Frenchman luckily scuffed right at the goalkeeper.
The Dane did not enjoy much change in his fortunes after the interval either, while his positioning was uncharacteristically poor and he also had a slight mix-up with Gary Cahill that almost exposed Chelsea at the back.
First-choice central defensive pairing Antonio Rudiger and David Luiz both watched on, having been left out of the squad here. If Christensen is to give them a real run for their money and press them for a starting berth, his performances must improve.
#1 Hit - Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea)
Kepa Arrizabalaga was quite easily Chelsea's best performer on the night as he kept his nerve during a number of instances to prevent Videoton from taking a shock lead at Stamford Bridge. The shot-stopper, who became the most expensive goalkeeper in world football when he joined Chelsea this summer, was given the nod instead of Willy Caballero and proved why he could become a key player for the Blues this season.
The 24-year-old showed excellent commanding skills inside his area and rarely put a foot wrong with his decision-making throughout. Perhaps the miscommunication with Christensen that almost helped Videoton snatch a goal could have been avoided, but ultimately Kepa saved Chelsea's blushes to help them secure an important win.
The Spaniard made a strong save to deny Loic Nego early on in the second-half, after Chelsea were caught napping after the restart. Things could have slipped further away from the hosts' grasp if they had conceded a goal at the time.
Arrizabalaga kept Chelsea in the game for long enough to snatch all three points and will be delighted with an impressive goalkeeping display on the night, earning his clean sheet.
