1. OLIVIER GIROUD (8.3)

Player ratings are an inherently flawed exercise, and it really should be called “sentiment” rather than “rating”, but beyond just personal whims, preferences, and favorites, it’s always interesting to see what gets rewarded.

Do you reward individual moments of brilliance, or do you reward steady brilliance without any truly standout moments? The former is always easier to identify, and in turn easier to acknowledge — and not just in football.

There is of course no right or wrong way to go about these things when it comes to player ratings. Chelsea do not win without Giroud’s ridiculous moment of absolute quality. And we also do not win without the steady brilliance of Mason Mount, or Andreas Christensen, and many others — and I don’t mean that just in the banal “well it is a team game”-sense...

2. MASON MOUNT (8.0)

...but in the sense that without Mount’s effort and almost every-play excellence (the boy sure loves a nutmeg these days, to go along with his plethora of ankle-breaking turns — and how about this run and pass?)...

3. ANDREAS CHRISTENSEN (7.4)

...and without yet another expectation-defying flawless turn in the heart of defense by Christensen, we come nowhere near winning this game, nowhere near providing the platform for Giroud to executive his moment of brilliance.

It is, after all, a team game. (Usually.)

vs. ATLÉTICO MADRID (CL, A, W 1-0)

EXCEPTIONAL (9.0+): —

EXCELLENT (8.0-8.9): Giroud (8.3), Mount (8.0)

GOOD (7.0-7.9): Christensen (7.4), Azpilicueta (7.1), Kovačić (7.0), Hudson-Odoi (7.0), Rüdiger (7.0)

AVERAGE (6.0-6.9): Werner (6.9), Jorginho (6.8), Kanté (6.7, sub), Alonso (6.7), James (6.3, sub), Ziyech (6.2, sub), Pulisic (6.1, sub), Havertz (6.1, sub), Mendy (6.0)

POOR (5.0-5.9): —

BAD (4.0-4.9): —

TERRIBLE (3.0-3.9): —

OVERALL