Chelsea had a disappointing start to their Champions League campaign on Wednesday night as they suffered a 3-1 defeat at Bayern Munich.
There is little shame in losing to the Bundesliga behemoths, but the Blues will be frustrated that errors cost them in Bavaria.
It was a Trevoh Chalobah own goal that opened the scoring before a rash Moises Caicedo challenge allowed Harry Kane to score from the penalty spot.
Chelsea were not being blown away and quickly gave themselves great hope thanks to an excellent Cole Palmer goal, with the England star the standout once again.
The Germans led by only one goal at half-time but the visitors hurt their own chances just after the hour-mark as a misplaced Malo Gusto pass put Kane through on goal and the England captain made no mistake.
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Palmer thought he had bagged a second late on but it was ruled out for a marginal offside call and Bayern saw out the win.
It was not a terrible performance from Chelsea, but ultimately an unsuccessful one and here’s how their players fared.
Robert Sanchez – 7
Despite conceding three, the goalkeeper played alright and made some very impressive saves, notably from Kane and especially from Olise. Not really at fault for any of the goals, but will obviously head home disappointed.
Malo Gusto – 5
Was actually having a decent game, especially going forward as he assisted Palmer’s goal, but ruined things somewhat by handing Kane his second goal on a plate. Chelsea only had themselves to blame when playing out from the back and Gusto prodding the ball into Kane’s path for him to score.
Trevoh Chalobah – 4
Suffered the embarrassment of opening the scoring at the wrong end, although it was a very tricky Michael Olise cross he was trying to deal with. Not entirely convincing.
Tosin Adarabioyo – 5
Yet to convince he is at this elite level, but not an awful performance and was not at fault for any of the three goals that Chelsea conceded on his first outing in the Champions League since his Manchester City days.
Marc Cucurella – 6
The all-action full-back tried to make an impact going forward and did pop up in the Bayern box, but was pretty restricted by defensive duties up against Michael Olise. He did that job well enough against a dangerous opponent.
Reece James – 5
Playing in central midfield he is neat and tidy but looked less effective than Caicedo and Fernandez alongside him, both defensively and offensively. As Maresca looked to change the game it was James he withdrew for Andrey Santos.
Moises Caicedo – 5
Solid enough in the middle of the park, as he regularly is, but really cost his team by bringing down Kane in the area. There was a covering defender and it was not a challenge that needed to be made.
Cole Palmer – 7
Chelsea’s best player, as is so often the case, and scored a fantastic goal to give them hope. Breaking quickly from his own half he played a simple but clever one-two with Gusto before finishing expertly. Chelsea looked a bit blunt other than when getting him on the ball.
Enzo Fernandez – 6
Tries to do an awful lot in midfield, works hard, but couldn’t impact the game too much as Chelsea struggled to create good chances and conceded a fair few.
Pedro Neto – 4
Showed brief flashes but his left flank was certainly the less threatening of the two as Palmer lurked on the right. No great surprise he was replaced by Alejandro Garnacho on 68 minutes.
Joao Pedro – 5
The odd silky touch but didn’t really threaten Manuel Neuer’s goal, despite being given the full 90 minutes by Maresca. Still learning to link up with his new teammates. A bit unlucky to be facing Olise for Bayern’s first goal and failing to stop the winger.
Substitutes
Alejandro Garnacho – 5
Andrey Santos – 6
Estevao- N/A
