Chelsea gave their chances of qualifying for the Champions League a huge boost on Sunday afternoon after beating Liverpool 3-1 at Stamford Bridge.
Enzo Fernandez got Chelsea off to a fly after opening the scoring in the third minute before an own goal by Jarell Quansah saw the home side double their lead in the second half.
Virgil van Dijk got Liverpool back into the game, but a Cole Palmer penalty restored the Blues’ two goal advantage.
Enzo Maresca would have been delighted with his team’s display. It was probably one of their best of the campaign.
With that in mind, The Chelsea Chronicle has rated each player’s performance in what could prove to be their most important win of the season.
Robert Sanchez: 6/10
Quiet afternoon for Robert Sanchez, which was a surprise given the opposition, but that is what the goalkeeper wants, especially after the mistakes he has made between the sticks this season.
Moises Caicedo: 6/10
Moises Caicedo was not in his usual midfield role so did not make the kind of impact that he normally does and gave away a couple of fouls.
Trevoh Chalobah: 7/10
Made some really good clearances in the first half. Had Trevoh Chalobah been owned by Crystal Palace or Bournemouth, you cannot help but feel that Chelsea would be trying to sign him.
Instead, the central defender could be sold this summer amid Chelsea’s interest in Marc Guehi and Dean Huijsen.
Levi Colwill: 7/10
Like Chalobah, Levi Colwill also cleared his lines and defended pretty well overall. Liverpool are fans of Colwill and that would not have changed after watching his performance against them.
Marc Cucurella: 6/10
Did not provide the attacking threat that Chelsea supporters have got used to but Marc Cucurella did not do too much wrong defensively, which is the most important thing.
Romeo Lavia: 9/10
Passing was brave and through the lines. Chelsea really do look like a much better outfit when Romeo Lavia is in the side.
Had the midfielder been fit throughout the whole season, then Champions League football probably would have been secured by now.
Enzo Fernandez: 8/10
Maresca wants to see Fernandez getting forward, and it is becoming easy to see why. Took his goal against Liverpool extremely well and brought a lot of technical skill to the Blues’ midfield.
Pedro Neto: 7/10
Set up Fernandez’s opening goal and was very dangerous overall on the right flank. After a bit of a slow start to life as a Chelsea player, Pedro Neto has looked like a real threat for Maresca’s side of late.
Cole Palmer: 9/10
Ended his goal drought from the spot and managed to put in a terrific performance overall at the Bridge.
Palmer played a key role in Chelsea’s first two goals before his penalty, bringing a lot of creativity to the pitch.
Noni Madueke: 7/10
Adapting pretty well to his new role on the left but probably should have scored in the first half. Noni Madueke‘s dribbling was impressive as ever, though, and caused Liverpool’s defenders a lot of problems.
Nicolas Jackson: 5/10
Caught offside a few times and did not really make Alisson work. That being said, Nicolas Jackson probably makes some of the best runs in the Premier League, and the Senegal international showed that on Sunday afternoon.
Jadon Sancho: 6/10
Caused a couple of problems down the left flank when he came on and had a chance to score. Not the worst cameo from Jadon Sancho.
Malo Gusto: N/A
Reece James: N/A
