FROM STAMFORD BRIDGE – Chelsea are back in the top half of the Premier League standings after beating Sheffield United 2-0 on Saturday.
The Blues overcame a sticky start to put the Blades to the sword and secure successive home wins in the Premier League for the first time since October 2022.
Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United were resilient in the first half but caved once Chelsea started to put their foot on the accelerator and head back up north with little to show for their efforts.
How the game unfolded
An appalling first half came and went without any real action – Conor Gallagher had a dipping shot easily saved by Wes Foderingham, while Cameron Archer saw a curling strike deflected narrowly wide off the heel of the Blues skipper.
At the start of the second half, Cole Palmer worked his way in from the right and sat Max Lowe on his backside with a neat piece of trickery, before his shot was blocked by Auston Trusty.
With 54 minutes on the clock, Chelsea took the lead. Raheem Sterling picked up the ball just inside the Sheffield United box and made a dart to the byline, cutting back for Palmer to slam in from six yards.
Soon after, Chelsea had a second in bizarre circumstances. Sterling wanted a penalty when he was yanked back by Anel Ahmedhodzic, and while play continued, everyone bar Palmer stood still, allowing him to hook the ball back for Nicolas Jackson to tap home.
Sheffield United had the ball in the net through William Osula but the goal was pulled back as James McAtee had run possession out of play before cutting it back for the young forward.
Chelsea should have added a third when Palmer broke away and found Armando Broja with a clever low cross, but the Albania international somehow fired over from mere yards out.
GK: Djordje Petrovic – 5/10 – Didn’t have a lot to do on his Chelsea debut.
RB: Axel Disasi – 6/10 – Solid enough defensively and wasn’t a total disaster going forward, which is an improvement on recent outings at right-back.
CB: Thiago Silva – 7/10 – Guilty of over-playing early on but marked his authority with a fine display full of courage and grit.
CB: Benoit Badiashile – 7/10 – Given barely any bother by Sheffield United’s attackers, if only in part because McBurnie was doing most of the heavy lifting.
LB: Levi Colwill – 6/10 – Attacked with caution but gave McAtee little room for manoeuvre going the other way.
CM: Moises Caicedo – 7/10 – Nipped into tackles and distributed the ball quickly once he received it. One of the Ecuadorian’s better performances in a Chelsea shirt.
CM: Conor Gallagher – 6/10 – Bustled about full of energy but was unable to have much of an impact in the final third.
RM: Raheem Sterling – 7/10 – Failed to get to the byline on the wing and eventually swapped positions with Palmer – a tactical move which benefitted both.
AM: Cole Palmer – 8/10 – Similarly came alive when afforded more freedom by Pochettino, dominating the second half.
LM: Mykhailo Mudryk – 6/10 – Demonstrated flashes of brilliance and ingenuity but his end product let him down. Notably ghosted past Bogle before firing straight into the Shed End in the first half.
CF: Nicolas Jackson – 7/10 – Another goal for his collection this season, doing enough to mask his inability to stay onside for the most part.
Substitutes
SUB: Enzo Fernandez (69′ for Mudryk) – 6/10
SUB: Armando Broja (75′ for Sterling) – 4/10
SUB: Malo Gusto (90′ for Palmer) – N/A
SUB: Ian Maatsen (90′ for Jackson) – N/A
Subs not used: Marcus Bettinelli (GK), Lucas Bergstrom (GK), Alfie Gilchrist, Alex Matos, Christopher Nkunku
Manager
Mauricio Pochettino – 7/10 – Finally got the better of a deep block with tinkering that didn’t involve just throwing on all of his attackers.
GK: Wes Foderingham – 4/10 – Didn’t cover himself in glory for Chelsea’s second, too easily allowing them a route to goal.
RB: Jayden Bogle – 4/10 – Put on toast by Mudryk a fair bit, which is impressive as the Ukrainian barely had a sniff in dangerous areas.
CB: Anel Ahmedhodzic – 5/10 – A solid first half when defending deep, but pulled about when Chelsea took control in the second.
CB: Auston Trusty – 6/10 – Sheffield United’s most reliable defender and improving week-on-week.
LB: Max Lowe – 5/10 – Shut Sterling down but was spun in circles by Palmer once they swapped positions.
RM: James McAtee – 6/10 – Showed a bit of trickery and creativity but not enough to cause Chelsea real problems.
CM: Gustavo Hamer – 5/10 – Technically excellent but also failed to get in the game or on the ball enough.
CM: Vinicius Souza – 5/10 – Protected the backline well when defending deep, but like Ahmedhodzic did not like it when Sheffield United had to come out and play with a little more impetus.
CM: Andre Brooks – 5/10 – Contributed little before being substituted in favour of another attacker.
LM: Cameron Archer – 5/10 – Flashed a shot just wide in the first half. Didn’t bring much else to the table.
CF: Oli McBurnie – 5/10 – Held the ball up well enough but was often isolated.
Substitutes
SUB: William Osula (57′ for Brooks) – 5/10
SUB: Oliver Norwood (67′ for McBurnie) – 5/10
SUB: Anis Ben Slimane (80′ for Hamer) – 5/10
Subs not used: Adam Davies (GK), George Baldock, Luke Thomas, Ben Osborn, Yasser Larouci, Benie Traore
Manager
Chris Wilder – 4/10 – Sheffield United had no intention of attacking even after going behind and their defence opened up with one simple tactical switch.
Player of the match – Cole Palmer (Chelsea)
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