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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 He was withdrawn early in the second half and replaced by Kai Havertz.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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,
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.
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.
Substitutes
Artem Dzyuba – 5/10
Came on a little too late in the game to influence it in any way.
Aleksandr Erokhin – N/A
Kirill Kravtsov – N/A
Andrey Mostovoy – N/A
Aditi Srinivas
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