Chelsea vs Dinamo Zagreb player ratings: Mason Mount shines as Denis Zakaria scores in Champions League
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Chelsea wrapped up their group campaign in the Champions League with a 2-1 comeback victory over Dinamo Zagreb.
The Blues already knew they would top the group regardless of the result but Graham Potter wanted his team to bounce back after a weekend defeat in the Premier League.
It wasn’t the best of starts therefore when Bruno Petkovic headed in a close-range opener, but Raheem Sterling equalised midway through the first half and Denis Zakaria hammered in the second on his Chelsea debut.
The hosts spurned several further chances to increase their lead as Sterling blazed over and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the crossbar after the restart, but the first-half goals were enough to ensure the Blues finished the group with four straight wins in Europe.
Here are the player ratings from Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
Recommended
Chelsea XI
Edouard Mendy, 7. A first start under the new manager but didn’t have too much opportunity to impress. Couldn’t do anything about the early goal but made a decent save from another header after the break.
Cesar Azpilicueta, 6. Restored to right-back in a defensive quartet and was decent in build-up play as well as one-v-one battles. Might have done better for the early goal though and didn’t have the pace to get back after he pushed forward.
Trevoh Chalobah, 7. Assured throughout with his defensive work and his possession play. Didn’t look out of place at all.
Kalidou Koulibaly, 7. Took an early knock but recovered. Good positional play against counter-attacks but booked for a poor tackle. Played just over an hour on his return.
Ben Chilwell, 5. A clumsy outing in truth, rushed in possession and conceding needless fouls. Better delivery in the second half but not his best night – but the worst of all was saved for stoppage time as he went down with an apparent hamstring injury, just weeks out from the World Cup.
Jorginho, 8. Lots of time and space on the ball after a frantic opening and made the most of it with some searching passes from deep.
Denis Zakaria, 7. An overdue appearance in midfield and marked it with a goal, taken well, low and first time. A rampaging performer as he won the ball and carried it in equal measure.
Mason Mount, 8. Excellent first touch all night. Some lovely lay-offs, neat exchanges of passes and runs into the final third. Best player on the park for the first hour or so and nearly scored a late free-kick.
Raheem Sterling, 7. Took his goal very well with a composed dribble and finish but should have scored another soon after.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 6. Spent a lot of time in the left channel and looked ineffective for much of it, but then had two chances after the restart – one almost expertly finished, the other wild and wasteful.
Kai Havertz 7. Drifted all over the final third causing problems with his link play and clever ability to find space. Might have done better with a finish or two but also provided some really good cut-backs.
Subs: Armando Broja 6, Conor Gallagher 7, Thiago Silva 6, Ruben Loftus-Cheek 6, Christian Pulisic 7.
Recommended
Dinamo: Livakovic 7, Ristovski 5, Sutalo 6, Peric 5; Moharrami 7, Ademi 6, Misic 5, Ivanusec 7, Ljubicic 7; Orsic 6, Petkovic 7.
Subs: Emreli 5, Drmic n/a, Bulat n/a.
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