Overview

Chelsea grabbed a late win in order to seal progression to the knockout stages. We made it hard for ourselves, with some very passive play in the middle, but ultimately created enough to get the better of Rennes.

Hudson-Odoi owned the first 30 minutes, with his positive intent and quality on the ball standing out. While Mount’s terrific pass will get a lot of plaudits, Hudson-Odoi’s run off-the-ball deserves praise too — runs like that should help raise his overall output, too.

Mount was in the thick of the action all game, and was denied a well-deserved goal by arguably the best save of the season against Chelsea so far. However, familiar failings in midfield crept up and Chelsea lost control of the game from the 30th minute.

In a scarcely believable statistic, Chelsea did not have a single shot between the 30th and 88th minutes. The only person who could have felt aggrieved when Rennes equalized was Édouard Mendy, who pulled off four smart saves before the goal.

However, the naivety of Rennes showed and they lost possession in a dangerous area, leading to Giroud scoring a late winner after Werner missed a presentable chance. Not the prettiest win but an important one nonetheless.

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Match statistics

Statistics from fbref.

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Individual ratings

Frank Lampard

Opted to field Jorginho and Kovačić together in midfield, giving Kanté a rest. While this is a fully sensible decision in the long-run, these ratings pertain only to this specific game and as a result, his rating has been brought down a notch. It was slightly confusing to see Werner rested instead of Ziyech, too.

Some of the in-game changes were slightly hard to understand too, with Werner remaining on the pitch over Abraham and Hudson-Odoi. This was not Lampard’s best outing but also nothing alarming.

RATING: 6.5

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Édouard Mendy

Made some very good saves to keep the score 1-0, with one near post save standing out. For a player of his size to get down so quickly is impressive. Played one absolutely delightful pass to Abraham around the 35th minute too.

RATING: 7

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César Azpilicueta

Replaced the red hot Reece James and was not at his best. Did not contribute much in the way of playing the final pass except for one cross which was cancelled by an offside call. Could have a done a lot better at ball progression.

Stats of note
22 pressures - 1st among Chelsea players
4 tackles - 2nd
2 shots - Joint 1st

RATING: 6

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Kurt Zouma

Was excellent in the air and protecting his box, for the most part. Was solid on the ball without being spectacular, with Silva resuming his duties as the main ball progressor.

Stats of note
5 clearances - 1st
4 aerial duels won (6 competed) - Joint 1st
15 loose-ball recoveries - 2nd
5 passes into final third - Joint 2nd

RATING: 7

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Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Thiago Silva

Could have done significantly better for Rennes’ goal, with his missed header directly leading to Guirassy’s chance. Besides that one moment, he was largely his imperious self and did a great job defusing tricky scenarios before they escalated. However, directly contributing to a goal brings down his rating.

Stats of note
7 passes into final third - 1st
6 progressive passes - Joint 1st
2 interceptions - Joint 1st
3 clearances - 3rd
13 loose-ball recoveries - 3rd

RATING: 6.5

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Ben Chilwell

Despite reasonably good statistics, this was a night to forget for Chilwell. Being active defensively is not the same as being good and Chilwell was an example of this. He made a few errors that will be punished by better teams. This was a fatigued display and is not reflective of his ability as a player.

Stats of note
17 loose-ball recoveries - 1st
6 progressive passes - Joint 1st
4 touches in the penalty box - Joint 1st
4 aerial duels won (6 competed) - Joint 1st
2 shots - Joint 1st
4 clearances - 2nd

RATING: 6

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Jorginho

Like with Chilwell, his statistics were solid on paper without being reflective of his actual performance level. Jorginho was too passive at ball progression and did not offer the required support defensively when Chelsea were under pressure.

Stats of note
5 tackles - 1st
2 interceptions - Joint 1st
21 pressures - 2nd

RATING: 5

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Mateo Kovačić

After two very encouraging displays as an advanced midfielder, this was a disappointing display in a slightly deeper role. He could not exert a substantial degree of influence on the game and was largely a passenger before being subbed off.

Stats of note
5 progressive passes - 2nd
2 tackles - 3rd

RATING: 5

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Mason Mount

Was virtually an one-man midfield until Kanté entered the game in the second half. His assist for Hudson-Odoi summed up everything good about him — the intensity to win the ball back, the vision to spot a free runner and the technical quality to execute a perfect pass. Will have been annoyed to have missed a chance to score.

Stats of note
1 assist
5 shot-creating actions - 1st
3 key passes - 1st
3 touches in the penalty box - 2nd
2 successful dribbles (2 attempted) - 2nd
5 passes into final third - Joint 2nd
15 pressures - 3rd

RATING: 8

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Photo by John Berry/Getty Images

Callum Hudson-Odoi

Frank Lampard has made it clear what he wants from Hudson-Odoi — more end product and activity off-the-ball — and his demands were fulfilled against Rennes. The winger was active on both sides of the ball, showing plenty of intent. His cross to Werner was a pearl and should have been converted.

Despite being the team’s main creator on paper, Chelsea’s play did not go through him much and as a consequence, he did not get the chance to post better stats.

Stats of note
1 goal
2 passes into final third - 2nd
2 shot-creating actions - Joint 3rd

RATING: 7

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Tammy Abraham

This display ranged between average and above-average. The lack of ball progression from midfield made it impossible for him to get on the end of chances in the box. He was reduced to competing in duels and winning fouls, a job he did reasonably well.

Regardless, having failed to register his influence on the stat-sheet, he cannot be given a high rating.

RATING: 6

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Timo Werner

Got into excellent positions and failed to capitalize on them similar to the Newcastle game. More concerning was his poor general play, however. His tiredness was very obvious and he got plenty of passes and off-the-ball runs wrong.

The goals will inevitably come thanks to his movement and quality but this was a pretty shoddy performance all-round.

Stats of note
4 touches in the penalty box - Joint 1st
2 shots - Joint 1st
3 shot-creating actions - 2nd

RATING: 5

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Substitutes

Photo by Matthieu Mirville/Icon Sport via Getty Images

N’Golo Kanté (68th minute) — Shored up the midfield and was among the better players on the pitch after his introduction. Injected the team with a much-needed dose of intensity and more importantly, quality.

Stats of note
3 completed dribbles - 1st
2 interceptions - Joint 1st
2 shot-creating actions - Joint 3rd

Olivier Giroud (69th minute) — Had a largely quiet display until popping up with the decisive goal.

Stats of note
1 goal
3 aerial duels won (3 competed) - 2nd

Hakim Ziyech (75^th minute) — Created two superb openings, one each for Chilwell and Werner. Unlucky to have not gotten an assist.

Stats of note
2 key passes - 2nd
2 shot-creating actions - Joint 3rd

Kai Havertz (76th minute) — Could not stamp his authority on the game and had a largely passive display.

Reece James (92nd minute) — nothing of note.