1. ANDREAS CHRISTENSEN (7.6)

It may be hard to believe, but this is Andreas Christensen’s first ever Man of the Match award in the history of these here player ratings. Then again, given the fact that he’s yet to score a goal for the Chelsea first-team (in 114 appearances!), that may be not so hard to believe (goals get votes, baby).

That said, Christensen’s rising to the (defensive) occasion perhaps better than he’s ever risen to the occasion at Chelsea before, and that includes his run of anchoring Conte’s back-three in 2017-18 and being one of the backbones of Sarri’s Europa League-winning campaign the season after.

We’ve been patiently waiting for Christensen, who for some reason often doesn’t get included in the Academy graduate conversations, to make the final leap from good occasionally to good consistently. Could this be ... it?

2. ANTONIO RÜDIGER (7.5)

Say what you will about Tuchel’s failings in getting Chelsea to score some goals, but the new head coach has sure whipped the defensive structures into shape. He’s neutered some of our attacking potential in favor of said rigidity, and while that may not produce spectacular results, it’s getting the job done for the most part. Rüdiger, who started coming back into the side under Lampard as well, has been one of the keys to that. His ceiling may be limited, but he’s been more than solid enough (minus a few moments of confusion between him and Mendy in recent weeks).

3. N’GOLO KANTÉ (7.2)

When in doubt, vote N’Golo.

vs. MANCHESTER UNITED (PL, H, D 0-0)

EXCEPTIONAL (9.0+): —

EXCELLENT (8.0-8.9): —

GOOD (7.0-7.9): Christensen (7.6), Rüdiger (7.5), Kanté (7.2), Mount (7.0)

AVERAGE (6.0-6.9): Kovačić (6.9), Azpilicueta (6.9), Mendy (6.7), Hudson-Odoi (6.7), James (6.5, sub), Chilwell (6.4)

POOR (5.0-5.9): Pulisic (5.8, sub), Werner (5.6, sub), Giroud (5.5), Ziyech (5.4)

BAD (4.0-4.9): —

TERRIBLE (3.0-3.9): —

OVERALL