Chelsea ratings from tonight’s 4-3 penalty shootout win over Saints

By Alessandro Schiavone at Stamford Bridge

RATING CHELSEA - SOUTHAMPTON

Chelsea

Kepa Arrizabalaga: He failed to hold a harmless shot, allowing Che Adams to tap home the Saints’ equaliser after half-time. But the Spaniard redeemed himself when he deflected away Adam Armstrong’s dipping shot. Also denied Will Smallbone with a fine save. Then helped his side to the penalty shootout when he smothered two Southampton efforts in stoppage-time. Chelsea will need him when first-choice Edouard Mendy is off to the African Cup of Nations and bar a little mistake the former Athletic Bilbao shot-stopper showed that he is a very dependable goalkeeper when called upon. Impressed. - 7

Marcos Alonso: Not his liveliest game but dispatched his penalty. - 6

Matteo Kovacic: The potent Croatian ball-carrier was comfortable on the ball and demanded it in dangerous areas but it’s clear that without the metronomic passer that Jorginho is and N’Golo Kante’s influence alongside him he was tasked with more defensive and game-building duties and thus less dangerous 6between the lines. - 6

Trevoh Chalobah: The Chelsea academy graduate denied Shane Long with a brave intervention in the 90th minute. The Irishman would have been through on goal. - 7

Saul Niguez: The Spaniard gave an interesting account of himself. Came close to his first Chelsea goal after six minutes but his towering header was effortlessly palmed away by Forster who also saved his second header after the interval. The Atletico Madrid loanee dragged a left-footed effort wide in the 74th minute. Despite his missed chances, he was a growing influence on the game. Offered balance, timely interventions, was defensively diligent, tactically intelligent and was a real threat going forward from central positions. Showed glimpses of his talent and we can see that he is beginning to understand English football. It was no doubt his best Chelsea performance to date. - 7

Ross Barkley: Could have scored when he latched onto a through ball but failed to lift it over Forster. - 6

Callum Hudson-Odoi: Hit the side-netting after doing all the hard work in the 90th minute. Should have buried that chance. Was not really involved in the game and for sure, unlike Niguez, he did not do much to convince his manager to play him more often. Successfully converted his penalty. -6

Hakim Ziyech: Wasn’t really involved in the game in the first 45 minutes. Nevertheless made his mark on the game when he set up Havertz’s headed goal, but offered very little otherwise. Was more lively in the second-half but there is still a massive difference between the player he is now and the game-changer he was at Ajax. Was handed a rare start and should have made the most of it. Never really got out of first gear. - 6

Reece James: His best moment in the game was scoring the winning penalty. Also tried to catch out Fraser Forster from a free-kick which the veteran goalkeeper effortlessly tipped over. Most of Southampton’s threat came from his side. With his defensive partners Malang Sarr and Trevoh Chalobah looking solid, Hasenhuttl must have instructed his players to direct traffic down his side. - 6

Kai Havertz: Deputised for the injured Romelu Lukaku and was arguably Chelsea’s most influential player. The two missed chances early on were a sharp indicator of what was to come. And after sweeping the road, he began the procession, opening Chelsea’s scoring when he fired a header into the far corner from Ziyech’s corner. MOTM - 8

Malang Sarr: His outstanding positional sense and physicality to compete at this level were never in doubt. Tonight he barely put a foot wrong and effectively contained the Southampton frontline. And almost scored a scruffy goal with the last kick of the game. Reliable centre-back should Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen or Thiago Silva miss games through suspension or injury in future. Needs a run of games, although with Rudiger and Christensen in the form of their lives it will be complicated for the former OGC Nice star to showcase his ability. - 7

Mason Mount: Missed his penalty and didn’t impact the game after coming off the bench in the 67th minute. - 6

Ben Chilwell: Came on at the same time as Mount but dispatched his penalty, the penultimate one, to put Chelsea on the brink of victory. -6