Chelsea player ratings vs Manchester City: 'quality' 8/10, three 6/10s but five frustrating 5/10 in 2-0 defeat

Enzo Maresca’s first Premier League game ended in a 2-0 defeat to champions Manchester City, but the performance gave a glimpse of the style of play and ideas of the new Blues boss. Erling Haaland chipped Robert Sanchez, who was in goal for Chelsea, before former Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic sealed the win with a strike from outside the box. Bernardo Silva got the assist for Haaland’s goal with the slightest of touches.

Chelsea looked impressive, and Nicolas Jackson thought he had equalised after finishing off a parried shot from Ederson, but VAR showed he was offside. A change in system in the second half saw Malo Gusto pushing high up as a winger when Chelsea had possession, making them look dangerous on the ball. However, despite their efforts, they never really found the back of the net. Maresca thus became the seventh consecutive Chelsea manager not to win his first game in charge, going back to Frank Lampard.

Here’s how we rated the Chelsea players:

Robert Sanchez - 8 Brilliant, with a world-class save to deny Doku in the first half, followed by another excellent save from Haaland in the second. A quality display.

Malo Gusto - 6 Did a decent job defensively and looked like a threat going forward. He’s aggressive and technically gifted.

Marc Cucurella - 6 An impressive start. He was so good that he forced Doku to switch wings. He looked comfortable playing as Chelsea’s left-back.

Levi Colwill - 6 A solid first half without being spectacular. Made some good interceptions

Wesley Fofana - 5 He was the one who played Bernardo Silva onside for City’s first goal. Then gave the ball away fo the Kovacic goal.

Romeo Lavia - 6 A strong first half, not just in passing but also defensively, where he was solid. Run out of legs in the end.

Moises Caicedo - 6 A strong display without being spectacular.

Enzo Fernandez - 5 Played some lovely passes to switch play in the first half, but when they didn’t work, they looked really bad. Had a few loose controls.

Cole Palmer - 5 Had a shot that Ederson parried before Jackson finished, but the Senegalese forward was offside. Palmer always looked likely to pick out a good pass.

Nicolas Jackson - 5 Good hold-up play, but didn’t press as much as his manager would have liked. Had some really good moments with forward passes.

Christopher Nkunku - 5 Missed a brilliant chance late in the first half after being played in by Nicolas Jackson. Generally, it was a frustrating outing for the French for forward.

Pedro Neto - N/A

Not much impact when he came on.

Marc Guiu- 4

Pressed well but that was it.

Renato Veiga - N/A

Came on for Cucurella but that was it.