Player ratings as Barcelona ends Chelsea’s Champions League run

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In an open and entertaining game, Barcelona smashed Chelsea 3-0 to qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals.

Chelsea played with much more verve than they did in the first leg and managed to create dangerous openings as a result. NaijaBet

They had lots of half-chances but mostly they ran into Barca’s tyrannical centre-backs, and then at the other end Leo Messi destroyed them with his genius. So who were the best players? And who were the worst?

Barcelona

Marc-Andre Ter Stegen – 6/10

A neat and tidy display. Dominated his box and made the simple saves he had to. NaijaBet.com

Sergi Roberto – 4/10

Decent in possession but repeatedly exposed whenever Chelsea ran at him. The Blues hammered him over and over again and were it not for Pique and Dembele covering for him, Barcelona could have been upset here.

Gerard Pique – 9/10

Battled well against Olivier Giroud in the air and marshalled his defence wonderfully. Did excellently to cover for Sergi Roberto’s poor positioning and made sure Barcelona only gave up one clean look at goal (Kante’s run). NaijaBet.com

Samuel Umtiti – 9/10

A colossus at the back, clearing Chelsea’s crosses and making well-timed interceptions all night long. The way he would just step into a Chelsea cutback, collecting it as though it was always meant for him, was an incredible combination of disrespect and excellence.

Key stat: Umtiti made 13 defensive actions against Chelsea, the most of any Barcelona player. NaijaBet.com

Jordi Alba – 8/10

Got forward with regularity and defended his flank magnificently. Repeatedly made well-timed blocks and interceptions to prevent Chelsea getting any territory.

Sergio Busquets – 7/10

Majestic as ever. Cool and calm in possession, controlling the tempo of the game. Got injured when Victor Moses fell into his feet and had to go off on the hour. NaijaBet.com

Ivan Rakitic – 7/10

An able deputy for Busquets, filling in gaps and keeping possession ticking over. Stepped up in a big way after the Iniesta and Busquets injuries to help Barcelona see things out. NaijaBet.com

Andres Iniesta – 7/10

Played with a regal air about him. A stunning tackle early on and a wondrous backheel to Suarez the highlights of a great first half. Notable how tired he became in the second half however, and he lasted just 10 minutes before being subbed for Paulinho.

Ousmane Dembele – 8/10

A magnificent and energetic display. Defended well but also added thrust and purpose to Barcelona’s play. Scored Barcelona’s second (his first for the club) with a thundering finish on his right foot. His chase-back tackle on Marcos Alonso in the second half, saving a surefire goal, was almost equally as impressive. NaijaBet.com

Lionel Messi – 9/10

A magnificent finish to put it through Courtois’ legs whilst staring across the box. Impossibly brilliant to set-up Dembele for the second. Supernaturally confident to nutmeg Courtois a second time to score Barca’s third. And that’s just the goals; his all-around performance was mesmeric. NaijaBet.com

He knew just when to step up the tempo and when to slow it down and ran the show, especially in the second half when Iniesta and Busquets went off. Made sure his team-mates could always count on him. Quite simply the best player on the planet.

Luis Suarez – 6/10

Excellent flick to play Messi in for his goal, but was otherwise frustrated, losing every 50/50. Worked hard but still no Champions League goal this season. NaijaBet.com

Substitutes

Paulinho – 7/10

Came on for Iniesta after 55 minutes. Immediately added thrust and purpose, and even solidity, to a midfield that needed it.

Andre Gomes – 7/10

Came on for Busquets after 60 minutes. Received a standing ovation and put in a confident display. NaijaBet.com

Aleix Vidal – 6/10

Came on for Dembele after 66 minutes.

Chelsea

Thibaut Courtois – 4/10

Not at his best for the first and third goals, but hard to criticise him for being tricked by Messi’s genius. Had no chance with Dembele’s thunderbolt.

Cesar Azpilicueta – 3/10

Destroyed by Messi for the second and third goals. Couldn’t adjust his feet and got left in the dust on both occasions (and for the third goal he gave the ball away in the first place). Obviously a great defender but a bad night at the office.

Andreas Christensen – 5/10

Rinsed by Messi for the second goal. Was otherwise decent enough; battled Suarez well.

Antonio Rudiger – 6/10

Solid and robust. Could do nothing about any of the goals. Even hit the bar with a header on 89 minutes.

Victor Moses – 4/10

Offered nothing in attack and failed in his only real defensive test (stopping Messi for the third goal). Did manage to unintentionally injure Busquets though, so there’s that. NaijaBet.com

N’Golo Kante – 8/10

Tigerish in the tackle, taking advantage of the referee’s leniency to win the ball back and drive Chelsea forward. Missed a great 1v1 chance in the first half but he was absolutely ruthless in the second half. Repeatedly won the ball back and got Chelsea started. Didn’t deserve to lose.

Key stat: Kante enjoyed a passing accuracy of 96%.

Cesc Fabregas – 3/10

Robbed in the middle of the pitch for the second goal. Poor with the ball, poor without it. NaijaBet.com

Marcos Alonso – 4/10

Smacked the ball off the post at the end of the first half. Dove when 1v1, looking for a penalty when he should have taken a shot. Made lots of great runs but used the ball poorly.

Willian – 8/10

Bursting with energy and dynamism. Was Chelsea’s brightest player, constantly creating danger with his runs and passes. Played Alonso through 1v1 for what should have been a great chance. He was Chelsea’s best attacker by some distance, outshone all team-mates not named N’Golo by several orders of magnitude. NaijaBet.com

Key stat: Willian won seven out of his 10 take-ons.

Eden Hazard – 4/10

Some lively dribbling early on but disappeared after Dembele’s goal. He had one good run and cross in the second half but otherwise it was another disappointing evening in the spotlight for Chelsea’s famous Belgian.

Olivier Giroud – 5/10

Won copious headers and was a decent attacking pivot for Chelsea’s attacks early on. Was withdrawn as Chelsea chased a goal.

Substitutes

Alvaro Morata – 4/10

Came on for Giroud after 66 minutes. Added absolutely nothing. What happened to him?

Davide Zappacosta – 5/10

Came on for Moses after 66 minutes. Looked reasonably lively.

Pedro – n/a

Came on for Hazard after 81 minutes. Got a standing ovation from the Camp Nou on his return home. NaijaBet.com