Chelsea continued their perfect Europa Conference League record with a 2-0 win over Heidenheim in Germany.
Christopher Nkunku and Mykhaylo Mudryk came up with the goals, but Enzo Maresca’s side were made to work hard for the result. They were under serious pressure until their second came late on, while a red card for Cesare Casadei at the death put only a slight dampener on the night.
There were several top Chelsea performances in a hostile environment away from home, but Jadon Sancho was particularly impressive on the right wing, notching both of the match’s assists and asking the question of his manager about ousting Noni Madueke from the starting line-up.
Here, Express Sport takes you through how each Chelsea player performed on the night…
Chelsea player ratings (4-2-3-1)
Filip Jorgensen: 7 (booked)
Gave the ball away early in the second half and nearly paid the price, but came good late in the game with a sequence of important saves as Heidenheim piled on the pressure.
Axel Disasi: 5
Was too susceptible to being dragged out of position and too easy to dribble past on the whole, but his tackle did start the attack for Chelsea’s opening goal.
Tosin Adarabioyo: 8
Tosin and Benoit Badiashile were spraying passes from the back all night. Two of Tosin’s found Nkunku in dangerous areas, and the defender could have had a goal himself after fighting his way into a good position but poking wide.
Benoit Badiashile: 6 (booked)
Was shown a silly yellow card inside one minute but made up for it with eye-catching passing, particularly one to set Mykhaylo Mudryk free in the first half.
Renato Veiga: 6 (booked)
Steady but unspectacular. Played a lovely long ball to Marc Guiu early on.
Cesare Casadei: 6 (sent off)
Found lots of space in midfield, was often Chelsea’s spare man and he was calm playing through the press. A second bookable offence late on spoiled his night.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall: 7 (Samuel Rak-Sakyi, 90)
Adventurous with his passing and involved with the game. His powerful shot stung Kevin Muller’s fingers in the first half, and he played a beautiful free-kick into the box which Tosin should have buried. Missed a big chance in the 80th minute after being played in by Jadon Sancho.
Jadon Sancho: 9 (Tyrique George, 90)
Chelsea’s brightest player. Sharp with his footwork and accurate with his passing. Sancho crossed in for Nkunku to score, set up Dewsbury-Hall for what should have been a second, and then found Mudryk for Chelsea’s second. Watch out Noni Madueke on that right flank.
Christopher Nkunku: 6 (Chukwuemeka, 75)
Played a slightly deeper role behind Marc Guiu but still had plenty of chances. Took Chelsea’s only goal of the game well in the 51st minute, but misses a pair of one-v-one chances either side of that when he really should have killed the contest.
Mykhaylo Mudryk: 7
Middle-of-the-road performance until his brilliant top-corner finish late on. Could have been more involved in the game but his pace is always a weapon.
Marc Guiu: 7 (Joao Felix, 62)
It’s open to interpretation whether Guiu’s performance was good or bad. He had five shots in the first 17 minutes and did not convert any of them, but he was always involved, a willing runner and frequently popped up in good positions.
SUBS
Joao Felix: 7
Brilliant through ball to set up Nkunku but the Frenchman fluffed his finish.
Carney Chukwuemeka: N/A
A late addition.
Tyrique George: N/A
A late addition.
Samuel Rak-Sakyi: N/A
A late addition.
