Chelsea vs. Dynamo Kiev, Player Ratings: Willian the Brillian', one in a milli-an

Just when you think his streak of good form can't get any better, Willian goes and does that.  The season's brightest spot just got a few factors brighter, even!  A goal, and an assist, and almost another assist on a free kick cross that was put wide rather inexplicably by Zouma.

Seventh Man of the Match in our last eight matches for the man with the glorious hair-do.  The four in a row puts him in Hazard and Mata company, the 9.5 puts him into the top 10 of individual highest ratings in the three-year history of the WAGNH community ratings.  He's already got the single season club record for direct free kicks scored for the season, and it's only the first week of November!

We had lamented the fact that Willian's great efforts were being wasted by the fact that nobody else was stepping up.  The rest are slowly catching up, finally, so perhaps we have indeed turned a corner!

The sight of proper Chelsea fullbacks, matched foot to flank at Stamford Bridge has been quite rare over the past couple years, but with Branislav Ivanovic not quite ready for match action just yet and the Kurt Zouma right back experiment hampering us both at right back and at center back, it was time for Mourinho to do what many have been crying out for all along ... play the new kid on the (low-mid-high) block!

In the reverse fixture, usual left back Cesar Azpilicueta shut down Dynamo's dangerman Andriy Yarmolenko and the fear was that Baba would come nowhere near doing the same.  But he acquitted himself quite alright, perhaps getting a bit lucky with the early knock picked up by the big threat.  He was also helped by Oscar's diligent work up and down the wing.  Baba's attacking forays forward (especially in the first half) also helped pin back Dynamo's men into their own half, proving the old adage that sometimes attack is the best form of defense.

While certainly comparisons with Ashley Cole are just a tad bit premature, it was heartening to see not only that Mourinho finally placed a bit of trust in the 21-year-old left back, but that Baba repaid that faith quite admirably.

The future is here.  Kurt Zouma has started 13 of our last 15 matches.  César Azpilicueta and Asmir Begović are the only other two players in the squad who can make that claim.

Zouma may not be the polished product — not many players who celebrated their 21st birthday just a week prior would be, especially not defenders — but his physical gifts are undeniable, his mental attributes are steadily rising, and one day, he will even time his jumps properly.  And not miss from 3 yards out when it was easier to score.

There's also this tackle, which ... well ... I mean ... just ... WOWZA.