Chelsea V Man.City - player ratings

[Tomo 21,751]

Petr Cech 6 - Got all his decisions spot on but in all honesty apart from a Toure shot which most keepers would have saved he had sod all to do.

Branislav Ivanovic 6 - Troubled a couple of times but done enough to show that RB is his best position.

David Luiz 10 - dont think ive given a 10 yet but this guy deserves one, where are the idiots who said he cant defend? he did not get skinned once and poped up with yet another goal, are we seeing a 10 goal a season defender here?

John Terry 9 - Led from the back and his brave tackle that nearly got him injured showed that his commitment to the cause can not be questioned (like any blue would anyway), outstanding from the skipper.

Ashley Cole 8 - Starting to look like the Cole from August, not hesitant to drive forward and never gets caught out at the back.

Micheal Essien 8 - This guy is back and at a vital time of the season.

Ramires 9 - Awesome goal, although he gave the ball away a few times but all in all he was very good, would usually be an 8 but that goal pops him up to 9.

Frank Lampard 6 - He did ok but his shooting was a bit erratic, he wasnt brilliant today but lets be honest he didnt really need to be.

Florent Malouda 5 - Took too much time on the ball and his delivery was shite, he has to pick up form quick or face the drop.

Soloman Kalou 7 - Was pretty good today, wisper it quietly he was using the ball wisely.

Fernando Torres 8 - why was he subbed off? i thought he was fantastic making runs and even tracking back doing his work, im really happy with his effort today and ive seen enough to be convinced when 1 goes in lots will follow.

SUBS

Nicolas Anelka 6

Didier Drogba 7

Yuri Zhirkov 6

All in all good and well deserved win would have been a travesty if we didn't, scoreline flattered City we outplayed them.

[ElNinoSemper 18]

Cech 7 - Was under pressure early on when City were on fire but made the necessary saves. Solid as always.

Ivanovic 7 - Lively game from him, made a few impressive runs up the flanks and was generally solid too.

Luiz 8 - going to be a bit contrary here because I thought he had an average first half. Came alive in the second and how!. Was tempted to give a nine but he's still being rash with the challenges.

Terry 8 - Powerful and indomitable at the back. Great stuff from our skipper.

Ashley Cole 7 - looked livelier and got involved up front as well. Solid game.

Essien 7 - Looked better than I've seen him for awhile.

Ramires 9 - Pace, skill and relentless hunger. He's really coming into his own and played a blinder. MOTM for me.

Lampard 6 - Not having a good spell at the moment, was the weak link for me in the midfield.

Malouda 4 - Becoming a real liability to be honest. Too interested in the glory headlines for himself and not playing for the team. His crossing and passing were atrocious too. Time for prolonged period on the bench methinks.

Kalou 8 - Effective from the start. Had great pace and worked well with Torres. More please.

Torres 8 - easily the best he's been since he joined. Dogged determination, fantastic movement and glimpses of his awesome skills. I can't wait for him to catch fire and put all the naysayers to shame.

SUBS

Nicolas Anelka 5 - ineffective to be honest.

Didier Drogba 6 - muscled a few defenders out the way but the slump continues, unfortunately.

Yuri Zhirkov 5 - didn't see enough of him, wish he'd come on much earlier.

[

[crazy1 24]

Petr Cech 6

Branislav Ivanovic 6.5

David Luiz 10

John Terry 9

Ashley Cole 9

Micheal Essien 8.5

Ramires 9

Frank Lampard 7

Florent Malouda 5

Soloman Kalou 8.5

Fernando Torres 8

SUBS

Nicolas Anelka 5

Didier Drogba 7

Yuri Zhirkov 5

[The Big Drog 1,110]

Cech -6.5 : Didn't have much to do but what he did have to do he did well.

Ivanovic -7: Defensively very solid and supported the attack too.\

Luiz - 10: I dont usually give players a 10, it has to be something pretty special to warrant that number but today was something special from the Brazilian centre back, defensively as good as you're ever likely to see, his passing from the back was excellent, his goal superb, has the reading of the game and positional sense of a Carvalho and the speed, power and tackling of a Lucio, phenomenal.

Terry-9: On any other day he would have been my pick for motm, a captain's performance, quite adequate really with Capello watching on, justified Capello's decision with a top class performance.

Cole - 8: Excellent today, bombed forward with vigour, defended very well.

Ramires -9.5: Again on any other day he would have been the star man, his best ever performance in a Chelsea shirt, such a wonderful player, takes his defensive responsibilites seriously, has endless amounts of energy, offers drive to the midfield, versatile and a dangerous attacking threat, a key player for Chelsea for years to come.

Essien- 8.5: His best Chelsea performance in months, he was everywhere in midfield as he dominated the game in a way that only Essien can.

Lampard-7: Performed admirably beside the robust Ghanian, supported the attack well, didn;t shirk defensive responsibilities and used the ball cleverly.

Malouda- 5: Not great, got into some good positions, looked up for the game but his final ball let him down time and time again.

Kalou-7: Gets a lot of stick, some of it deserved, some not but he does offer something different, very unpredictable (to himself as much as the opposition) but can go past players and is very skillful.

Torres-7: Never gott he chance he was searching for today but his eye catching movement off the ball, a few wonderful touches (including a quite marvellous backheel late in the first half) and the return of his speed as well as his work ethic today which saw him chase back and win the ball a number of times means that this was his best performance so far in a Chelsea shirt and looks like he will eb a hit at Chelsea once the goal comes.

Drogba-7: Fantastic when he came on, delivered a beauty for Luiz's goal, so strong in possession, really looked up for it, still a hugely important player at Chelsea.

Anelka -6: Had a few moments where Chelsea looked to threaten on the counter as City drove forward in search of an equaliser, not as productive as fellow sub Drogba but decent.

Zhirkov-5.5: Never had a chance to really get into the game, had one really good run at the City back four and doubled up in Adam Johnson for the final few minutes.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Cech 7

Ivanovic 8

Luiz 9

Terry 8

Cole 7

Essien 7

Lampard 6

Ramires 8

Malouda 4

Torres 6

Kalou 7

Zhirkov, Drogba, Anelka N/A

[Kojo 4,676]

I agree with those ratings, Lampards shots were really getting on my nervous. I thought Ivanovic done a bit better actually, he wasn't to bad offensively just couldn't deliver, but he was always there when someone needed him and could pass the ball through to a player. Yeah agree taking Torres off was just pathetic, he needs a full match, you can see he wasn't happy when he was coming off, plus if you saw Drogba and Anelka warming up, you would just give up on yourself and say right well then fuck it i'll come off now. Torres needs more time.

[dodojojo 510]

Seriously, I'd rather Ancelotti drop Torres if he insists on Malouda starting. I'm not going get into the whole debate of is he or isn't he ignoring Torres. Whatever the motivations, it's clear they have very little interaction and chemistry. Watch the game again, I bet Torres passes the ball to Malouda more than the other way around--issue is that Torres is supposed to the striker and Malouda the midfielder. This has happened game after game whenever they have been on the pitch.

If Malouda will play better with Anelka and Drogba then maybe it's time to drop Torres. It's frustrating to watch.

[HRiver 1,512]

Cech 8 - 100% confident and correct in his interceptions, did his job perfectly.

Ivanovic 7 - Made some very important tackles and showed his great defensive skills once again.

Terry 9 - As always, led the team and was great defensively, made no mistakes. Great performance from the captain.

David Luiz 10 - Scored another very important goal for us, made no mistakes at the back and always manged to prevent City from creating chances, on the air and on the ground.

Ashley Cole 8 - As always, good runs forward and solid at the back, shows why he's still the best LB in the world, even though he's getting old he never shows it on the pitch.

Essien 8 - The old bison is back definitely. A key player in our midfield, played very well.

Ramires 9 - His goal and his run was impressive. Brilliant player. Love seeing him with the ball.

Lampard 7 - Not at his best today, his shots weren't the usual threatening ones.

Malouda 6 - Definitely not the Malouda of last season, never wins a one versus one battle, can't beat his opponents and his assisting and his deliveries were quite poor.

Kalou 7 - He performed how I expected him to. Played much better in the first half, where he was quite dangerous and quick with the ball in his feet and created some good chances.

Torres 7 - Played much better than he did against Man U or against Blackpool, but I don't think that he has adapted with the way the team plays yet. Good performance, he definitely should have played 90 mins, he could have probably scored.

SUBS

Anelka 6 - Didn't do too much, but didn't play too much.

Drogba 7 - He came on from the bench against both of the Manchester sides and was key to our comeback in both games. Assisted for the first goal which was the important one. Good play from Didier.

Zhirkov 6 - Same as Anelka. Didn't play much, so didn't have the chance to do anything impressive.

[zagger 47]

Petr Cech 7.5

Branislav Ivanovic 7.5

David Luiz 10

John Terry 9

Ashley Cole 9

Micheal Essien 8.5

Ramires 9

Frank Lampard 7

Florent Malouda 4.5

Soloman Kalou 8.5

Fernando Torres 8.5

SUBS

Nicolas Anelka 5

Didier Drogba 7.5

Yuri Zhirkov 6

[Karlos 6]

Petr Cech 8

Branislav Ivanovic 7.5

David Luiz 10

John Terry 8.5

Ashley Cole 8

Micheal Essien 7.5

Ramires 9

Frank Lampard 7.5

Florent Malouda 5

Soloman Kalou 8

Fernando Torres 8

SUBS

Nicolas Anelka 5

Didier Drogba 7.5

Yuri Zhirkov 5.5

[Apixels 6]

Petr Cech 7

Branislav Ivanovic 6

David Luiz 10

John Terry 8

Ashley Cole 9

Micheal Essien 8

Ramires 9

Frank Lampard 6

Florent Malouda 5

Soloman Kalou 6

Fernando Torres 7

SUBS

Nicolas Anelka 5

Didier Drogba 8

Yuri Zhirkov 5

[DYC. 7,542]

Cech 7

Ivanovic 6.5

Luiz 9

Terry 8

Cole 7

Essien 7

Lampard 6.5

Ramires 8

Malouda 5

Torres 6

Kalou 6.5

Zhirkov, Drogba, Anelka N/A

[zolayes 14,489]

Seriously, I'd rather Ancelotti drop Torres if he insists on Malouda starting. I'm not going get into the whole debate of is he or isn't he ignoring Torres. Whatever the motivations, it's clear they have very little interaction and chemistry. Watch the game again, I bet Torres passes the ball to Malouda more than the other way around--issue is that Torres is supposed to the striker and Malouda the midfielder. This has happened game after game whenever they have been on the pitch.

If Malouda will play better with Anelka and Drogba then maybe it's time to drop Torres. It's frustrating to watch.

flawed logic ,,if what you say is true then BENCH MALOUDA....a provider is there to provide

[Hysteria 159]

Cech 8

Ivanovic 6.5

Luiz 10

Terry 8

Cole 8

Essien 7

Lampard 6.5

Ramires 9.5

Malouda 5

Torres 7

Kalou 7

Zhirkov 6

Drogba 7.5

Anelka 6

[dodojojo 510]

flawed logic ,,if what you say is true then BENCH MALOUDA....a provider is there to provide

Trust me that would be my choice. I don't know if Ancelotti can do it without upsetting the rest of team, be accused of rocking team stability and favoring Torres, etc. You know the whole deal. A fair critique would be that it may also limit his options as far formations go.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Cech - 6

Ivanovic - 6

Terry - 7

Luiz - 9

Cole - 8

Ramires - 8

Essien - 8

Lampard - 6

Malouda - 4

Kalou - 7

Torres - 6

[- 25 - 167]

Cech - 7

Ivanovic - 7

Terry - 8

Luiz - 9

Cole - 8

Ramires - 9

Essien - 8

Lampard - 7

Malouda - 5

Kalou - 7

Torres - 7

Drogba - 6

Anelka - 5

Zhirkov - 5

Thats the worst I've seen Flo play in a long time but apart from that I reckon everyone did well.

Got to say that Carlo got his tactics spot on today as well.

[Henri 115]

Trust me that would be my choice. I don't know if Ancelotti can do it without upsetting the rest of team, be accused of rocking team stability and favoring Torres, etc. You know the whole deal. A fair critique would be that it may also limit his options as far formations go.

Malouda don`t like the new kid, so what to do?. Carlo use your psychological skills or sell him?. Upsetting, it sounds like a kindergarten?. This is football at highest level you gotta fight for

your right to wear the color blue, or get out!.

[Shane 2,275]

Cech - 7

Didn't have to do much but did whatever he did comfortably.

Ivanovic - 7

Played well, Was good going forward, bar the shot that he skied. Solid performance.

Luiz - 9

Wow, Had Dzeko in his pocket, He was good going forward, then won the freekick and headed it in. Amazing performance from an amazing player.

Terry - 8

Showed today why he should be England captain. Great performance from JT, Strong in the tackle and didn't put a foot wrong all game.

Cole - 8

Great performance from Ashley, Bombed up and down the left flank all day long, and was very strong at the back.

Ramires - 8

Great strength showen by him in the tackle. His fighting spirit is unbelievable, He really fights for the team, and is a very good tackler. Great goal, finally we get proof he is Brazilllian.

Lampard - 7

Spread the ball around the park very well today, also delievered set pieces wellaswell.

Essien - 8

Best performance for ages. Really was a rock in the middle of the pitch.

Malouda - 2

Worst performance I've seen from him so far. Completly ignored every Chelsea player on the pitch until he got into trouble. Shape up or Ship out FloMo.

Kalou - 8

Brilliant performance from Kalou, really linked up with everyone well, always looking for the ball and when he got it was going again. Unlucky not to score, beat men and got into some good poisitions.

Torres - 6

Spent too much time on the last shoulder for me. Didn't do much wrong but needs to look for the ball more.

[Madmax 9,219]

Malouda needs a bitch slap.