EPL
Player ratings as the Blues slump to disappointing draw
Nottingham Forest and Chelsea shared the spoils on New Year’s Day, with the home side fighting back to earn a deserved point.
Chelsea dominated possession from the off but the first chance of the match would fall to the hosts, with Brennan Johnson being played through on goal by Morgan Gibbs-White but seeing his effort saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga.
He was made to pay for that miss just five minutes later when Raheem Sterling gave Chelsea the lead, tucking in a rebound after Christian Pulisic’s cross was inadvertently flicked onto the bar by Willy Boly.
The visitors controlled proceedings after that with the majority of the game being played inside Nottingham Forest’s half.
For all of their possession though, Graham Potter’s side weren’t able to create any other big chances, and so they headed into the break with just the one goal lead.
The home side made a strong start to the second half with Taiwo Awoniyi getting the ball in the box and firing an effort straight at Kepa shortly before the Spanish goalkeeper was forced into action again, palming away a shot from Johnson.
Forest continued to push and Gibbs-White so nearly brought them level in stunning fashion, hitting the woodwork with a perfect volley from the edge of the box.
Steve Cooper’s team were rewarded for their efforts just after the hour mark when Serge Aurier controlled a knock-down from a corner with his chest and volleyed in from close range.
Chelsea fans would’ve hoped that would spark their team into life but that wasn’t the case with Forest continuing to be the more threatening of the two teams.
Substitutions then turned the tide of the game in the away team’s favour though, and two of them linked up when Hakim Ziyech sent in a cross for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but the striker headed wide of the target under pressure from Aurier.
That would prove to be the final big chance of the match with Nottingham Forest holding on fairly comfortably to take a valuable and deserved point.
GK – Dean Henderson – 5/10 – Had a quiet night, only faced two shots on goal but maybe could have reacted quicker for the one that went in.
RB – Serge Aurier – 7/10 – After a quiet first half he got forward well in the second and took his goal excellently.
CB – Joe Worrall – 6/10 – Didn’t do much wrong at the back, helping keep Chelsea’s attack quiet.
CB – Willy Boly – 7/10 – Was unlucky for the Chelsea goal and made amends with an assist and some excellent defending later on.
LB – Renan Lodi – 5/10 – Looked shaky at the back at times and couldn’t do too much at the other end either.
CM – Orel Mangala – 5/10 – Wasn’t able to assert himself on the game much, failing to make a single tackle or create anything for his forwards.
CM – Remo Freuler – 7/10 – Played really well at the heart of the midfield, winning the ball back and keeping things ticking over for his team.
CM – Ryan Yates – 6/10 – Worked hard but lacked a bit of quality and was a little too rash at times in and out of possession.
RW – Brennan Johnson – 6/10 – Caused some problems for the Chelsea defence with his pace but lacked an end product, firing two big chances straight at Kepa.
ST – Morgan Gibbs-White – 8/10 – Easily the best attacker on the pitch, creating two huge chances with excellent passes, dribbling past opponents a number of times and so nearly scoring a wonderful goal.
LW – Taiwo Awoniyi – 7/10 – Was a real livewire on the left wing, taking on players, winning the ball and creating some chances. The only area in which he was lacking was his shooting.
Substitutes
Jack Colback (78′ for Mangala) – N/A.
Sam Surridge (82′ for Johnson) – N/A.
Neco Williams (88′ for Awoniyi) – N/A.
Manager
Steve Cooper – 8/10 – Reacted excellently to going behind, making tactical tweaks that saw his team dominate most of the second half.
GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga – 7/10 – Made a few excellent saves and couldn’t do anything about the goal.
RB: Cesar Azpilicueta – 5/10 – Was okay at the back most of the time but struggled to deal with Awoniyi’s physicality and didn’t do a whole lot going forward.
CB: Kalidou Koulibaly – 6/10 – Defended well for most of the match and passed the ball well.
CB: Thiago Silva – 7/10 – Continues to be Chelsea’s best defender, rarely putting a foot wrong.
LB: Marc Cucurella – 5/10 – Would’ve hoped to make more of an impact in attack.
CM: Jorginho – 5/10 – Couldn’t dictate the game as he likes to, not making much of an impact when on the ball.
CM: Denis Zakaria – 4/10 – Wasn’t good in the middle of the park, failing to create any chances or win the ball back much.
RM: Raheem Sterling – 6/10 – Scored a good goal and created a chance but was quiet asides from those moments.
AM: Mason Mount – 5/10 – Got on the ball more than his midfield partners but didn’t make much use of it.
LM: Christian Pulisic – 6/10 – Sent in a good cross for the opening goal and was his team’s biggest threat for much of the match.
CF: Kai Havertz – 3/10 – Was invisible for most of the match.
Substitutes
Mateo Kovacic (61′ for Zakaria) – 5/10 – Wasn’t able to help his team wrestle back control of the game.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (73′ for Mount) – N/A
Conor Gallagher (73′ for Sterling) – N/A
Hakim Ziyech (73′ for Jorginho) – N/A
Carney Chukwuemeka (87′ for Pulisic) – N/A
Manager
Graham Potter – 4/10 – His team started well but why he allowed them to give away control of the match after taking the lead we don’t know. Far too cautious and it cost Chelsea.
Player of the Match – Morgan Gibbs-White
Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has suggested that he is not as appreciated at club level as he is for England.
Maguire made the switch to the Red Devils for £80m back in 2019 and has since divided opinion after being named the skipper less than a year later. This season, he was quickly dropped by incoming United manager Erik ten Hag in favour of Raphael Varane and summer signing Lisandro Martinez.
At international level however, the centre-back has been one of England’s most dependable performers under Gareth Southgate, playing a major role in the Three Lions’ deep tournament runs over the last five years.
Maguire started for England in Thursday’s 2-1 win at Italy in Euro 2024 qualifying. He didn’t cover himself in glory for the Azzurri’s goal but stood tall late on to help grind out the victory.
Speaking to the media post-match, Maguire was asked if he feels ‘properly appreciated’.
“For England, yes, I do,” he replied. “Obviously, last season was difficult for the club, but, listen, I’ve proven myself to Gareth, who works with a wide range of centre backs. He has the choice of all the English centre-backs in the country and I play, every time I’m available, I’ve been in the team.
“I’m sure if you ask the rest of the lads they know what I bring to the team. I’m 30 years old but I shouldn’t really need to prove myself at this level. I’ve over 50 caps. I’m England’s top-scoring defender.
“I’ve played nearly 200 times for Manchester United, I’ve captained the club for three years now, but I do also understand that when you’re the captain of Manchester United you do come under the most amount of scrutiny. Last season at club level, my performance wasn’t good enough, alongside everybody else at club level, not just myself struggled. Everyone else struggled.”
Maguire recognises that he has not always been at his best while wearing a United shirt.
He was an easy scapegoat during their dreadful 2021/22 season in which they recorded their lowest ever points tally in the Premier League era.
That said, Maguire has also failed to kick on and if anything has taken several steps backwards after what was a promising first half to 2021, emerging as one of the league’s leading centre-backs and playing out of his skin while unfit in England’s run to the Euro 2020 final.
His case hasn’t been helped by his outward need silence critics, notably scoring for England and sticking his fingers in his ears as a celebration amid his decline for United.
90min rounds up the latest transfer news, rumours and gossip circulating around the world…
Arsenal remain ahead of Chelsea in the race to sign Declan Rice from West Ham this summer. The midfielder’s preference is to stay in London amid previous links to Manchester City and Manchester United. (Football Insider)
New Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel will look to reunite with Chelsea duo Mateo Kovacic and Edouard Mendy when the summer window rolls around. (Calciomercato)
Manchester United are ready to send Amad Diallo back to Sassuolo as part of a bid to sign Italy midfielder Davide Frattesi. (CMW)
Another player on Manchester United‘s radar is Brighton striker Evan Ferguson. The 18-year-old scored on his debut for the Republic of Ireland earlier this week. (Football Insider)
Liverpool will look to strengthen their defensive ranks with the signing of Dutch defender Perr Schuurs, with current club Torino ready to sell for a fee of €50m. (Tuttosport)
Ilkay Gundogan is likely to leave Manchester City for Barcelona on a free transfer this summer. His contract expires at the end of the season. (The Athletic)
Real Madrid have joined Barcelona and Liverpool in the race to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen. (Fabrizio Romano)
Meanwhile, Celta Vigo midfielder Gabri Veiga would prefer to join Real Madrid over the likes of Barcelona and Manchester United this summer. (Cadena SER)
After failing with a bid last summer, Chelsea are working on another offer to sign Romeo Lavia from Southampton. (Football Insider)
Arsenal and Newcastle are monitoring Atalanta striker Rasmus Hojland, who grabbed a hat-trick on his international debut for Denmark this week. (Tutto Atalanta)
Having reached new heights in the Premier League in 2022/23, Arsenal will soon be beginning their preparations for the new campaign with a pre-season tour to get ready for 2023/24.
Preparations for last season took place in Germany for Arsenal but with the Covid-19 pandemic a bit more of a distant memory for many, it is expected that more teams will be heading further afield again to either the United States of America or Asia.
Arsenal are yet to announce a full training camp location for their pre-season but they do have one fixture already confirmed which drops a big clue.
The Gunners are going to be coming up against an MLS All-Star team in Washington D.C. which will be coached by Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney. That takes place on July 19 and it is hard to imagine that Arsenal will only play one game in America.
A semi-regular fixture of Arsenal’s pre-seasons in recent years has been the Emirates Cup, but there has not been any word on whether an edition of that will be taking place or not this summer. If there is, then Arsenal could be splitting their time between America and London.
All times BST.
As is the case for almost every big club in football now, all of Arsenal’s pre-season friendlies are expected to be televised live on Arsenal.com and their official app with a subscription.
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