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| 1. EDEN HAZARD | 9.1 |
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Minutes played81
Touches70
Passes*30/44
Shots1/4
Take-ons7/9
Fouls drawn4
Welcome back, Eden Hazard. For reals.
While Hazard had made starts against Gibraltar (for Belgium) and Nottingham Forest (for Chelsea), and a few substitute apperances as well, but this his true comeback, four months in the making since breaking his ankle while training with the Belgium national football team in June.
It was worth the wait.
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| 2. ÁLVARO MORATA | 9.0 |
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Minutes played81
Touches37
Passes17/21
Shots*2*/6
Take-ons2/3
Fouls drawn2
The boy from sunny Spain almost made it two Man of the Match awards in a row, just barely missing out to Hazard.
Morata's goal was his seventh for the club, fourth with his head, and in a welcome change from some of our other forwards of recent years, he was certainly not afraid to shoot (or head) the ball towards goals. Since you miss 100 per cent of shots you don't take (-Gretzky via Michael Scott), or something, hopefully he continues both that trend ... and of course the scoring goals from those shots trend.
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| 3. N'GOLO KANTÉ | 8.5 |
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Minutes played90
Touches57
Passes33/38
Take-ons2/4
Tackles9
*** Turns out this should've been Michy Batshuayi (8.6), but I'm not changing it now. Sorry, Michy. ***
Chelse's three-man midfield on Wednesday should be a sign of things to come, able to deal with and pose a danger to just about any team. On Wednesday, the three rotated around based on opportunity and need, offering different looks and combinations to the opposition, remaining effective through four different looks that Atlético tried to throw at them.
Kanté played as the furthest-forward midfield for significant parts of the game, which was a) cool and b) pretty good and c) whoa!
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STARTERS:
Courtois (7.5), Cahill (7.4), David Luiz (6.4), Azpilicueta (8.0), Alonso (7.6), Fàbregas (6.9), Bakayoko (7.7), Kanté (8.5), Moses (7.4), Hazard (9.1), Morata (9.0)
SUBS:
Willian (7.0), Batshuayi (8.6), Christensen (7.1)
OVERALL:
