Chelsea vs Manchester City promised much and while it wasn’t the rollercoaster ride many had predicted it would be, Sunday’s mammoth clash certainly witnessed some standout individual performances.
Argentine striker Sergio Aguero bagged a brace to give the Citizens a comfortable 2-0 win in an anti-climatic tie at Wembley Stadium.
English youngsters Phil Foden and Callum Hudson-Odoi, on opposite sides, were among the players who impressed while a certain World Cup winner too caught the eye.
Here are The Statesman’s player ratings from an intriguing clash in the English capital:
Chelsea
Willy Caballero
The best Chelsea player on the pitch by some distance.
Time and again, bailed his side out with some excellent saves.
Rating: 8/10
Marcos Alonso
Not his best outing in a Chelsea shirt, but managed to do okay in an unfamiliar left-back role.
Rating: 6/10
Antonio Rudiger
The better central defender in a Blues jersey, but that isn’t saying much.
Rating: 5/10
David Luiz
The 31-year-old just can’t play in a two-man central defence.
Don’t be surprised if Chelsea add another central defender before the transfer deadline this week.
Rating: 4/10
Cesar Azpilicueta
Like Alonso, it’s been a while since he played as an orthodox fullback.
Did fine, even if he was out of position a couple of times.
Rating: 6/10
Ross Barkley
The former Everton man showed plenty of desire to win the ball, but not enough quality when he did get it.
Still, there’s promise there and if he remains fit, who knows?
Rating: 6/10
Jorginho
Bossing Perth Glory is one thing and doing it against City are two extremely different things.
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Still, with Kante returning, he can only get better so fans shouldn’t panic just yet.
Rating: 5/10
Cesc Fabregas
Shrugged off a knee injury to start, but never quite got going before getting subbed on the hour mark.
Rating: 5/10
Pedro
Lacked any sort of incisiveness and inventiveness both.
Can’t see him retaining his place in the starting XI with Wilian and Eden Hazard returning.
Rating: 4/10
Alvaro Morata
Anonymous.
Needs to do better if he’s to be the club’s first-choice striker.
Rating: 3/10
Callum Hudson-Odoi
While he wasn’t quite as influential as he was against Arsenal last week, it’s easy to forget he’s just 17 and can only get better.
Definitely one for the future, but if Chelsea’s senior stars keep playing like the way they are currently, then he may just start featuring regularly this season itself.
Rating: 6/10
Substitutes
Willian
Came on for the final 30 but struggled to make an impact.
Clearly not match fit.
Rating: 5/10
Danny Drinkwater
His signing never quite made sense to most and the former Leicester City midfielder didn’t quite set the pitch alight on Sunday either.
Rating: 5/10
Tammy Abraham
Tried his best to cause the City defence problems, but like Morata, struggled to do so with the scraps that were available for him.
Rating: 6/10
Victor Moses
Was asked to reprise his old role of a winger, but looked lost most of the time.
Rating: 5/10
Manchester City
Claudio Bravo
Hardly had anything to do, but even then, almost managed to make a mess of things.
Made a brave stop to deny Abraham in the closing stages.
Rating: 6/10
Benjamin Mendy
Seems the social media king can back up his antics on the pitch.
Superb display, and he should really take the Premier League by storm this season.
Rating: 8/10
Aymeric Laporte
Like Bravo, didn’t have much to do but did shackle Morata with ease.
Looks like he’s Pep’s first-choice centre-back for the 2018/19 season.
Rating: 7/10
John Stones
One sloppy pass almost caused a goal, but apart from that did well.
Rating: 7/10
Kyle Walker
Hasn’t trained much with the team, but didn’t look rusty at all.
Rating: 7/10
Philip Foden
A sensational display from the teenaged phenom and Pep’s right, he is ready for the Premier League.
Got an excellent assist too.
Rating: 8/10
Fernandinho
Did his job fairly well, which will be a relief for City fans as he didn’t have the best World Cup.
Rating: 7/10
Bernardo Silva
The star of the night, the way he pulled the strings in the City midfield was something else.
City won’t have to call upon David Silva if their Portuguese magician can keep this up.
Rating: 9/10
Leroy Sane
Subdued showing from the young German and reportedly came off at half time with an injury.
Rating: 5/10
Sergio Aguero
He may have scored a brace, but Aguero will know two more should have been on the cards.
Looks fit and ready, his battle with Gabriel Jesus promises to be an intriguing one.
Rating: 8/10
Riyad Mahrez
Looked comfortable in his role as deep-lying playmaker in the first half, slipping in his teammates whenever he wanted.
Ironically, his game dipped a little in the second when he was pushed upfield.
Rating: 7/10
Substitues
Ilkay Guendogan
Replaced compatriot Sane at half-time and did a decent job of marshalling the midfield in the second period.
Rating: 6/10
Gabriel Jesus
Could have had another one when he turned David Luiz inside out.
Rating: 6/10
Brahim Diaz
Bright cameo from the City youngster.
Rating: 6/10
Vincent Kompany
Hardly got a touch of the ball after coming in in place of Aguero for the final 10 minutes.
Rating: N/A
Nicolas Otamendi
Replaced Laporte with three minutes of regulation time left.
Rating: N/A
Claudio Gomes
City’s latest signing came on deep in injury time, only for referee Jon Moss blew the whistle.
Rating: N/A