Asmir Begovic – GK
Reacted perfectly when called upon and saw a lot more action than on Wednesday night. Rating – 8/10
Branislav Ivanovic – RB
Recalled to the side and handed the captaincy. Responded well to his return and did look more confident although was again caught upfield on a couple of occasions and booked for giving away a dangerous free kick on the edge of the box. Rating – 6/10
Kurt Zouma – CB
The young lad gave his best performance in a blue shirt to date. Speed, agility, strength and vision – he had it all. I’ll even forgive one little missed header which nearly let in Sanchez to score. He even scored his third goal for the club and his first in the league as he headed in a free kick at the far post. As a kid we were always told to head the ball down when trying to score and that’s just what he did. My personal man of the match. Rating – 9/10
Gary Cahill – CB
Impressive in the club’s second consecutive clean sheet as he continued his partnership with Zouma. Was also impressive but over-shadowed by his French team-mate. Rating – 8/10
Cesar Azpilicueta – LB
Our Dave picked up where Baba Rahman left off on Wednesday by linking play nicely with Eden Hazard down the left side. With Aaron Ramsey to mark rather than the tricky Alexis Sanchez, he had an easier time than Ivanovic. Rating – 7/10
Nemanja Matic – CM
Returned to the side after being replaced by Ruben Loftus-Cheek in mid-week and was back to his best, controlling the midfield and protecting the back line. His best games are when you hardly notice him because that’s the type of role he has. Rating – 8/10
Cesc Fabregas – CM
He’s had a bad season so far but finally we saw the real Fabregas, spraying long passes, linking play with intricate one-touch passes and delivering set pieces. It was from his free kick that Zouma scored. Rating – 8/10
Oscar – CM
A real contender for the man of the match award too, adding a real aggressive, ball-winning element to his game. The creativity was still there but in the last couple of games he’s had more edge. Maybe he’s now stepped up to the next level of his development. Pulled more strings than a kid in a puppet shop. Rating – 9/10
Pedro – RW
His movement and passing was up there with Fabregas, Oscar and Hazard and he had some fantastic surging cross-field runs but he had too many wasted chances that he blazed high and wide. Rating – 7/10
Eden Hazard – LW
It seems the first half against Maccabi was the bottom of his slump in form as he is now on his way back. The confidence was back and he was taking on players and trying clever one-two’s although not as many paid off as he would like. Scored the clincher even though a wicked Calum Chambers deflection may mean he has the goal taken away. Rating – 8/10
Diego Costa – ST
The Spanish striker’s lack of discipline is becoming embarrassing. Yes I know the opposition target his short fuse but all the more reason for him to do something about it. I cannot award a positive rating to someone who should have seen red for lashing out at another player even if that player was sent off shortly after. Personally they were both as bad as each other in the end and should have joined each other in the showers (not in the same shower but you know what I mean). It’s not even as though he contributed a goal to increase his rating. Rating – 3/10
Substitutes
Ramires – CM (on for Oscar 69 minutes)
Effective in midfield without shining. Rating – 6/10
Loic Remy – ST (on for Costa 82 minutes)
Didn’t get long enough to show anything and by the time he came on a lot of the effort had gone from our play as the other side were down to nine men. Rating – 6/10
John Obi Mikel – CM (on for Fabregas 92 minutes)
No time to do anything.
Rating – 5/10
