Marcos Alonso's late goal gave Chelsea the first-leg advantage
Thursday 11 April 2019 22:10, UK
How the Chelsea players rated in their 1-0 win over Slavia Prague in their Europa League quarter-final first-leg tie.
Occasionally sloppy in his handling and distribution, Kepa invited pressure by punching when he could have caught the ball too. Made one fine save from Ibrahim Traore though.
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The skipper has had some great nights in Europe for Chelsea but this wasn't one of them. Not his tidiest performance but at least his team take a clean sheet back to Stamford Bridge.
Almost found the much-needed breakthrough goal with a fierce shot just before the hour mark but his effort was well saved by Slavia Prague goalkeeper Ondrej Kolar. Solid enough.
Kept his place once more in Chelsea's Europa League line-up and was pressed into more defensive duties than he might have anticipated. Not always comfortable but coped.
Having lost his place in the Premier League line-up, looks well short of his best form and was sluggish again. Nevertheless, Alonso popped up with the crucial late winner for his team.
What has happened to the midfield pass master who was supposed to control games for Chelsea? Found himself bypassed more often than not and didn't make a tackle either.
Tried to make things happen, leading the press and attempting a few dribbles, but struggled to get anything going. Ruben Loftus-Cheek has the edge on him right now.
Another who failed to seize his opportunity. Lost possession too easily at times and still isn't contributing at the other end either. Didn't have a shot and didn't create a chance.
Disappointing performance from a player of real pedigree. Struggled to get hold of the ball with most of the play coming down the left and was dispossessed too easily when he did.
Tried to bring others into play but didn't always have team-mates around him as he might have expected. Almost broke through on goal in the first half but was adjudged offside.
Hit the crossbar in the first half and looked threatening when given space but didn't always pick the right option with his passes until finding Alonso's head for the winning goal.
Lifted Chelsea as soon as he came on and had a couple of purposeful runs but was singled out for some close attention by a robust Slavia Prague team.
Miskicked when well placed inside the box. The very fact that Maurizio Sarri felt compelled to call on the midfielder is indicative of how much Chelsea struggled on the night.
No real time to make a difference. He will expect to be in the starting line-up against Liverpool on Sunday after seeing his midfield rivals fail to seize their opportunity.
