Player ratings v Aston Villa: Madueke steps up to lead fightback, Mudryk struggles again
Chelsea stage stirring comeback from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Aston Villa at Villa Park, and should have won the game
By Jon Turner | April 25, 2024
At half-time, Chelsea fans could be forgiven for expecting the worst.
Trailing 2-0 despite dominating Aston Villa in terms of possession and territory, it was at the same scoreline that the Blues collapsed in embarrassing fashion at Arsenal on Tuesday.
However, it appears lessons were learned from the Emirates Stadium catastrophe. Instead of collapsing again, the Blues showed resilience and spirit, eventually turning their dominance into goals.
Following a Marc Cucurella own goal and a near-post finish from Morgan Rogers that had Villa in the driving seat, Noni Madueke led the second-half fightback.
Madueke scored a lovely goal in the 62nd minute after cutting in from the right flank, before the winger turned provider to set up Conor Gallagher’s sublime long-range effort with nine minutes remaining.
From there, only team looked like winning the match, and Chelsea thought they earned a deserved victory when Axel Disasi nodded home Benoit Badiashile’s hooked cross.
However, the delirious celebrations were short-lived as referee Craig Pawson was sent to the monitor by VAR for a foul in the build-up. The goal was chalked off after Pawson deemed Badiashile had shoved Villa defender Diego Carlos.
It was an outrageously harsh decision, and prompted Mauricio Pochettino to say that VAR was “damaging English football”.
Despite the late dramatics, it was an encouraging result and performance, although it did little for Chelsea’s hopes of sneaking into Europe.
Here are the player ratings.
Djordje Petrovic – 6/10
In a game that Chelsea largely dominated, the goalkeeper was a spectator for much of it, but he will be disappointed with conceding Villa’s second goal.
There was little Petrovic could’ve done about Cucurella’s own goal, and while Rogers’ fine finish caught him wrong-footed, he should have done better at protecting his near post.
That said, the Serbian stopper did well when called into action, making three strong saves to ensure Chelsea left Villa Park with a share of the points.
Trevoh Chalobah – 7/10
Largely did well in his makeshift position. However, Chalobah should’ve done much better for Villa’s second goal when he didn’t close down Rogers quickly enough, allowing the Villa winger time and space to get his shot away.
For the remainder of the game, though, he was excellent. Chalobah won 5/6 tackles, made two clearances and had six recoveries. He also came out on top in 9/13 individual duels (including 6/7 on the ground).
Going forward, he made a strong contribution; Chalobah completed 12 passes into the final third (as part of his 92% passing accuracy) and linked up well with Madueke, especially in the second half. Clearly Chelsea’s best option at right back in the absence of Malo Gusto and Reece James.
Thiago Silva – 6/10
The Brazilian was superb on the ball as usual, completing 106/109 passes (97%) and making eight passes into the final third, while creating one goalscoring chance. He really is as good with the ball at his feet as many midfielders.
Defensively, it wasn’t Thiago Silva’s most commanding performance. With Chelsea so dominant in possession, he didn’t face much sustained pressure from Villa’s forwards but did lose all four duels he was engaged in.
Came off injured towards the end of the game. Hopefully it’s not too serious and we see the great Brazilian again in a Chelsea shirt.
Benoit Badiashile – 6/10
After a succession of horror shows, this was a much-improved performance from the Frenchman, but there are still glaring problems in his game. His sharpness and anticipation to close down opposition players still isn’t good enough, and his positioning is still suspect.
Yet, he contributed plenty of positive stuff at Villa Park. Alongside Thiago Silva, Badiashile passed the ball out well from the back and completed 103/109 (94%) of his passes. He won 2/3 tackles, made four clearances, and won 6/9 duels.
He should’ve been the hero at the end after his cross found Disasi for the late winner, but he was harshly judged by VAR to have fouled Diego Carlos.
Marc Cucurella – 6/10
Could he have done better to sort out his feet for the own goal? Either way, it was a nightmare start for the player and team. Cucurella did well to recover, though.
Defensively, he handled the tricky Leon Bailey while winning 4/5 duels and making six recoveries. However, he only won 1/4 tackles.
As Chelsea camped in the Villa half, the Spaniard got forward and was the most effective attacking threat on the left side. He created three chances and was accurate with 2/4 crosses. Cucurella is becoming one of Chelsea’s more reliable performers.
Moises Caicedo – 8/10
Key to Chelsea’s dominance was their victory in the midfield battle, and Caicedo had a major role to play in that. The Ecuadorian, who was exceptional in the second half, won a massive 12 duels and lost just two, completed 12 recoveries, and drew five fouls.
Beyond his defensive responsibilities, Caicedo impressed in transition and attack. He completed 71/78 passes (91%), made 14 passes into the final third, and even had a couple of shots on target.
After getting dominated by Arsenal on Tuesday, this was an immediate reminder of Caicedo’s talent – displayed against a top-level midfield.
Conor Gallagher – 8/10
The captain scored his fourth goal of the season with an absolute beauty, bending the ball into the top corner from the edge of the area to earn Chelsea a deserved draw. That takes Gallagher’s goal involvements to 10 (he has six assists).
He again partnered well with Caicedo in central midfield, resuming the combination that worked so well against Everton. Gallagher had a 95% pass completion (56/59) and was full of his usual energy and commitment.
Defensively, he wasn’t quite as commanding as his Ecuadorian teammate – he lost 6/9 duels and committed three fouls – but played an important role in Chelsea controlling possession.
Noni Madueke – 9/10
Madueke’s attitude has been called into question in recent weeks following the penalty incident against Everton and when he was seen joking with Jack Grealish after the FA Cup semi-final defeat. However, he has shown on several occasions this season that he can take a leadership role and thrive under the responsibility.
That was certainly the case at Villa Park. At 2-0 down at half-time, Chelsea could have collapsed again but Madueke ensured that didn’t happen. He started the Blues fightback with a wonderfully taken goal, then assisted Gallagher for the equaliser.
The winger was a constant threat, completing 6/8 dribbles, and dominated Villa left-back Lucas Digne in their battle. This was Madueke at his irresistible best.
Cole Palmer – 7/10
Back in the team after missing the Arsenal defeat with illness, Chelsea are such a better, more cohesive unit with Palmer on the pitch.
While he wasn’t at his prolific best and should’ve scored a winner when played through on goal, Palmer was centrally involved in much of the Blues’ best play. He created three chances, completed 2/3 dribbles, and produced 83% (40/48) passing accuracy.
Villa struggled to contain Palmer as he dropped deep to collect the ball and link play between the midfield and attack. His involvement was crucial to Chelsea dominating possession.
Mykhailo Mudryk – 4/10
Awful against Arsenal, this was marginally better from Mudryk but he still struggled to provide a sustained attacking threat. The Ukrainian’s pace has the potential to be devastating, but with Villa sitting so deep, he wasn’t afforded the space to fully utilise his speed.
Mudryk made too many mistakes when in dangerous positions, whether it was a poor pass, unsuccessful dribble or his two off-target shots – including one that almost went out for a throw-in.
The defensive and positional aspects of his game need a lot of work, too. So much improvement required until he becomes a well-rounded winger.
Nicolas Jackson – 4/10
More of the same from our centre-forward. Once again got himself into some good positions, looked dangerous on the ball, drifted wide left to stretch the Villa defence … but couldn’t score a goal.
Jackson did have the ball in the back of the net after a fine finish, but was found to be marginally offside. Given his pace and the amount of space he had to run into, he should’ve timed his run better.
After that came the signature Jackson miss when he rose for a header but managed to hit the post from close range. Get him out on the left wing as quickly as possible.
SUBS: Axel Disasi (Thiago Silva 90’) – N/A
The Frenchman should have sealed a memorable late victory but his goal was cancelled by VAR after a soft foul from Badiashile in the build-up. After this rest, will likely return to the starting XI to face Tottenham.
Cesare Casadei (Mudryk 90’) – N/A
There were some calls for the Italian to start after his impressive cameo against Arsenal. Once again, though, he was limited to a couple of minutes
Manager: Mauricio Pochettino – 6/10
The manager’s injury crisis was on full display when he named a bench with two goalkeepers and five youth players. It meant the team all-but picked itself so any selection criticism would be extremely harsh.
Pochettino must have thought he was in a never-ending nightmare cycle when his team conceded in the fourth minute again. Trailing 2-0 at the interval, he needed to rouse something out of his players. Whatever he did or said, worked.
For all their dominant possession in the first half, the Blues didn’t do enough with it, but that all changed after the break, and Pochettino deserves plenty of credit for the turnaround. Were it for better finishing (again), Chelsea would have won this game.
