Udinese 1-3 Chelsea: Rating the Blues in their morale-boosting win
Chelsea revived an indifferent pre-season with a handy victory against Udinese, beating the Serie A club 3-1 at the Dacia Arena.
Following a penalty shootout defeat against Charlotte FC and a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of bitter rivals Arsenal, the Blues headed into this one with added pressure, despite the fact that it was a friendly.
What’s concerning more than anything else was Thomas Tuchel’s comments, referring to an unprepared, under-cooked squad not quite ready to compete for the title.
Goals from Raheem Sterling, his first of many to come in a Chelsea shirt, and N’Golo Kante jolted his side to a 2-0 lead before Gerard Deulofeu halved the deficit. Later on, the Cobham-connection was back, as Callum Hudson-Odoi slid a dangerous delivery into the box for Mason Mount to scalp a well-deserved goal.
Between Kai Havertz, Mason Mount and Sterling himself, Chelsea created plenty of opportunities that tipped the scale in their favour. On one hand, the creativity and link-up was beautiful to watch, whilst on the other, Tuchel would have loved to have more goals flown past Marco Silvestri.
Ahead of their Premier League curtain-raiser against Everton, Tuchel chose a configuration close to his best starting XI.
Without further ado then, let’s dive right into how the Chelsea players fared in what was a crucial pre-season closing fixture.
Edouard Mendy – 5/10
It’s an issue that seems to be popping up more often than Chelsea fans would like to see. While he’s brilliant with his feet and at stopping the ball, there’s a lack of conviction as far his parrying is concerned. He made a smart save before Deulofeu’s follow-up, but could he have avoided it in the first place?
Cesar Azpilicueta – 6/10
The Chelsea skipper put forth a polished performance as always, strong in one-versus-one situations, getting nice and high to form a pentagonal-shaped press system and winning ground duels with aplomb.
Thiago Silva – 6.5/10
As easy as it looks from a higher angle, it’s startling to know just how easily Thiago Silva slots across the back line, knowing exactly where to be. He was there whenever Chelsea had to have bodies in the box to defend, sensing incoming passes and snuffing them out.
Kalidou Koulibaly – 7/10
Aggressive, passionate, and effective. Koulibaly was unbeatable in the air, and was very active in closing players out. A first-half slide tackle when exposed down the left channel summed up what he’s all about.
Reece James – 6/10
James would have loved to have had more of the ball to generate more promising transitions. He did well, however, to get crosses off in tight angles and spaces.
Jorginho – 8/10
Jorginho’s engine work, especially five-ten metres ahead of his usual position, was refreshing to watch. He was reliable with his passing and flourished alongside a fully fit Kante. The assist for Sterling’s goal was pinpoint, underlining just how dangerous he can be if given space in key areas of the pitch.
N’Golo Kante – 8/10
Kante brought his shooting boots against Udinese. He had as many as three efforts from the 20-yard range, with one of them leaving Silvestri with no chance, as it deflected off the post. Kante enjoyed himself, running endlessly to partner whoever was going in for the tackle. On the half-turn, and with his acceleration, Kante was simply excellent.
Marcos Alonso – 6.5/10
Alonso was well-partnered by Koulibaly’s pace and recovery rate but spent the majority of his time marauding forward. His exchanges with Mount exposed Udinese’s right and resulted in many crosses.
Mason Mount – 9/10
Mount was everywhere with his touches, close control and give-and-gos with his teammates. His chance creation was fantastic, and with a bit more sharpness inside the box with the ball, he could be more devastating than any of his fellow forwards, simply due to the work rate and continuous attempts to pick spaces.
He really deserved the goal – sharp movement into the box, and a tidy finish from close range.
Raheem Sterling – 7.5/10
Sterling got the maiden goal out of the way, albeit in a friendly. His counter-attacking abilities switched the play in a flash. He was tricky on the ball, and really involved in the game. It’s only going to get better with time.
Kai Havertz – 6/10
Perhaps, one player that could have done better to boost his own confidence. Havertz’s movement and turn of pace was brilliant, but he would have preferred to get on the end of a few eye-catching passages of play.
Substitutes
Callum Hudson-Odoi – 7/10
Hudson-Odoi was where he wanted to be. On the right, in acres of space, running at the full-back, shifting it from left to right. He was never afraid of driving in, and it bore fruit when he drilled a low cross in for Mount to tuck in a third goal.
Emerson – 5/10
Emerson slotted on the left-hand side of the back three and had a comfortable 20 minutes or so as Chelsea enjoyed plenty of the ball with the tempo of the game slowing down.
Harvey Vale – 5/10
Vale played right through the centre, and had one half-chance, or probably lesser, when he tried to shift it on to his left ambitiously but was tackled.
Kenedy – N/A
Kenedy spent the few minutes playing further forward, more as an inside right. He was strong on the ball.
Billy Gilmour – N/A
Great to see the young midfielder bag some minutes.
-Akarshak Roy
Twitter: @RoyAkarshak