UEFA Champions League: Chelsea vs Zenit St Petersburg Player Ratings as Lukaku finds the net as Chelsea pick up win


UEFA Champions League: Chelsea vs Zenit St Petersburg Player Ratings as Lukaku finds the net as Chelsea pick up win

Romelu Lukaku got his name on the scoresheet as Chelsea claimed a nervy 1-0 win over Zenit St Petersburg. The UCL champions from last season have managed to get themselves off to a winning start despite a sub-par performance that saw the opposition continuously threaten the Chelsea goal.

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That said, let’s take a look at the player ratings from the fixture.

Chelsea Player Ratings

Edouard Mendy – 7/10

Mendy made an important save in the first half to deny a Rakitskiy header from a Claudinho corner. He was called in the second half as well and made a couple of important saves.

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Antonio Rudiger – 7/10

A good performance from Rudiger on the day. He came close to scoring when he made a run from the right of central defense towards the edge of the Zenit box.

Andreas Christiansen 6.5/10

The Denmark international put in a decent showing in central defense. He was a threat in set-pieces as well.

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Cesar Azpilicueta 8/10

The Spaniard provided the assist for the Lukaku goal in the second half. Despite being booked, Azpilicueta impressed with a good performance.

Marcos Alonso – 6/10

The left-back had a decent outing and was solid in defense. However, he did little to influence the game from an attacking standpoint.

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Reece James – 6.5/10

A decent performance at right-back from Reece James. However, he found himself competing for pace against the likes of Malcom and later Dzyuba.

Jorginho – 7/10

The Italian played the entire game and played solidly in defensive midfield. He impressed quite a bit and carried his form from the UCL final against Man City.

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Mateo Kovacic – 7/10

The Croatian international put in a solid performance in the heart of the midfield. He helped link up the play between Rudiger and Lukaku.

Hakim Ziyech – 5/10

A poor game for the former Ajax winger. He was withdrawn early in the second half and replaced by Kai Havertz.

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Mason Mount – 7/10

The England international put in a solid performance in attacking midfield. He came close to scoring in the middle of the second half.

Romelu Lukaku – 8.5/10

The Belgian striker scored the only goal of the game and tormented the Zenti defensive unit for the most part.

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Substitutes

Kai Havertz – 5/10

Came on early in the second half and linked up well with Mason Mount and Romelu Lukaku.

Thiago Silva – N/A

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Ben Chilwell – N/A

Ruben Loftus-Cheek – N/A

Zenit St Petersburg Player Ratings

Stanislav Kritsyuk – 7/10

The Zenit goalkeeper did well to keep the score at 1-0 by making some crucial saves to deny the Chelsea attackers.

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Aleksey Sutormin – 6/10

Put in a solid performance at right-back. However, he didn’t manage to influence the game in any way.

Dmitri Chistyakov – 6.5/10

Played well for the most part but found himself outdone by Lukaku in the attacking third.

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Yaroslav Rakitskiy – 6/10

Despite coming close to handing Zenit the lead in the first half, Rakitskiy was booked in the second half before being withdrawn towards the end of the game.

Douglas Santos – 6/10

The Brazilian played solidly at left-back but did little to influence the attack.

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Malcom – 5.5/10

The former Barcelona winger had an off game where he had little say in things. He was withdrawn for Dzyuba in the 75th minute.

Wendel – 5/10

The Brazilian international had a torrid time against the likes of Mason Mount and Mateo Kovacic. He was withdrawn towards the end of the game,

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Wilmar Barrios – 6/10

Put in a decent performance in central midfield and helped link the attack and defense together.

Daler Kuzyaev – 6/10

Among the best players for Zenit on the day. He was particularly instrumental in set-pieces.

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Claudinho – 7.5/10

Put in a solid shift. His corner from the first half almost resulted in a goal and a subsequent early lead for Zenit.

Sardar Azmoun – 7/10

Came close to scoring in the second half. The Iranian put in a decent shift and created problems for the Chelsea defense right through.

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Substitutes

Artem Dzyuba – 5/10

Came on a little too late in the game to influence it in any way.

Aleksandr Erokhin – N/A

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Kirill Kravtsov – N/A

Andrey Mostovoy – N/A

Also Read: La Liga: Atletico Madrid vs Villarreal Player Ratings as Atletico Madrid snatched away a point courtesy of an own goal.