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Pre-season Friendlies
Jul 29, 2015 at 1.10am UK
 
BL

2-2

Chelsea win 4-2 on penalties
Hazard (10'), Cahill (85')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Suarez (52'), Ramirez (66')

Player Ratings: Chelsea 2-2 Barcelona (Chelsea win 4-2 on penalties)

:Headline: Player Ratings: Chelsea 2-2 Barcelona (Chelsea win 4-2 on penalties): ID:235909: from db_amp
Sports Mole sorts the heroes from the villains with player ratings from Chelsea's 4-2 penalty shootout win over Barcelona in Maryland.

Chelsea rounded off their pre-season tour of North America by beating Barcelona 4-2 on penalties after the clash finished 2-2 in regulation.

Eden Hazard's opener on 10 minutes was cancelled out by Luis Suarez, before Sandro fired the Catalans ahead in style.

However, Gary Cahill pounced in the closing minutes with a leaping header to equalise, before Loic Remy struck the winning penalty in the shootout to seal the victory.

Here, Sports Mole reviews who delivered at FedEx Field.



CHELSEA

Goal

Thibaut Courtois: Ensured Chelsea held a slender lead at the break following a series of fine saves. Could do little about both goals. (8/10)

Defence

Branislav Ivanovic: Relatively solid throughout but did not venture forward as much as he would have liked. (6/10)

Kurt Zouma: Struggled with the trickery of Suarez throughout a first half that saw him finish second best in the personal duel. (5/10)

Gary Cahill: Paid a hefty price for being the hero after Masip inflicted a suspected broken nose in the moments before his 88th-minute equaliser. (7/10)

Cesar Azpilicueta: Solid first half but inexplicably gifted Barcelona an equaliser with a poorly-judged defensive header that landed at Suarez's feet. (5/10)

Midfield

Nemanja Matic: Barely put a foot wrong and ventured forward far more than usual as youngster Kenedy sat in midfield. (6/10)

Cesc Fabregas: Always a danger from set pieces, and almost had an assist within four minutes, but struggled to hold the same influence in normal play. (5/10)

Kenedy: Steady enough performance from the 19-year-old debutant. Looks to have an eye for a pass but occasionally looked out of his depth in the physical battle. (6/10)

Oscar: Unlucky not to score when his excellent free kick bounced off the crossbar in the first half. Spurned one or two good chances prior to that however. (6/10)

Eden Hazard: Looks poised to resume his duty as Chelsea's go-to-guy yet again this season following a fine solo goal, but his performance dipped in the second half. (7/10)

Attack

Diego Costa: Another frustrating outing for the striker, who missed a couple of good chances - including a one-on-one - to compound his pre-season frustrations. (5/10)

Substitutes

Ramires: Should have equalised long before Cahill did when his thrashed wide of Masip's near post following Falcao's lay-off. (4/10)

Radamel Falcao: Never really got into the game, but did look a player with confidence following an audacious overhead. Scored a fine penalty in the shootout. (5/10)

Loic Remy: Like Falcao, found himself on the periphery of the game following his introduction, but scored the winning penalty with aplomb. (5/10)



BARCELONA

Goal

Marc Andre Ter Stegen: Like Courtois at the other end, pulled off a number of fine saves throughout the first half, before being replaced by Masip at the break. (7/10)

Defence

Marc Bartra: Cheaply conceded possession at times and was one of the players who could have done more to prevent Hazard's goal. (4/10)

Jeremy Mathieu: Booked and his lack of pace was one of the reasons why Barcelona's high defensive line was suicidal. (5/10)

Douglas: Subbed after only 17 minutes following an injury. (5/10)

Adriano: Got forward brilliantly, producing some fine deliveries into the danger zone, but none was put away. Seldom in trouble defensively. (6/10)

Midfield

Gerard Gumbau: Looked a little out of his depth at times and could have conceded a first-half penalty after bringing down Costa inside the area. (5/10)

Sergio Busquets: Linked defence and attack well as per usual but perhaps guilty of trying the Hollywood pass once too often. (5/10)

Ivan Rakitic: Another who could have done more to thwart Hazard in the build-up to his solo goal. Should have scored himself but sliced well wide from point-blank range. (5/10)

Attack

Munir El Haddadi: Failed to justify the hype surrounding his future with a relatively lifeless performance. Somehow lasted 73 minutes. (4/10)

Sandro: Fired Barcelona ahead with a superb curling effort to salvage what was an otherwise quiet individual display. (6/10)

Luis Suarez: Finally broke Courtois's resistance between the sticks with a clever close-range lob to equalise, before being subbed shortly after. Barcelona's best player on the night. (7/10)

Substitutes

Sergi Roberto: Replaced right-back Douglas on 17 minutes. Got forward regularly but his delivery into the area could have been better. (5/10)

Jordi Masip: Directly at fault for the result after coming off his line to punch a corner, before Cahill headed into an empty net. Not the impression he would've wanted to make to Enrique. (3/10)

Alen Halilovic: Tried and failed with a Panenka during the penalty shootout. Did little else in regulation. (4/10)

Pedro: One of Barcelona's better players when he came on, and almost netted a third when his near-post drive rippled the side-netting. Could be his last game if rumours are to be believed. (6/10)


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