Football Features

    “A massive moment of redemption” – Chelsea beat Villarreal 6-5 on penalties to win the UEFA Super Cup

    By Muhammad Butt

    Published: 23:00, 11 August 2021 | Updated: 18:40, 10 September 2021

    In a dramatic night of football, Chelsea won the UEFA Super Cup 6-5 on penalties against Villarreal.

    The Blues scored first but were pegged back by the Yellow Submarine in the second-half. Extra time was cagey but a bold substitution from Thomas Tuchel swung the shoot-out to his side.

    Here’s how the players rated at Windsor Park:

    Chelsea

    Edouard Mendy – 7 – Solid save from Dia in the first-half to keep Chelsea ahead. Massive slip gave Gerard a clean look at goal but he redeemed himself with a great save to turn the shot onto the post. Subbed off ahead of the shootout.

    Kurt Zouma – 6 – Lost his man a few times. Not the best display from Zouma. Subbed off.

    Trevoh Chalobah – 8 – Nerveless. Excellent with the ball and repeatedly decisive in defence as he threw block after block in Villarreal’s way. Has he played his way into Tuchel’s plans for the season?

    Antonio Rudiger – 8 – A tyrant as always. Dominated every 50/50 and set the tone for the Blues. Lucky to avoid a red for his brutal challenge on Yeremy Pino, but remained the key member of Chelsea’s defence albeit he did give the ball away in the build-up to the equaliser. Still, scored his penalty in dramatic style.

    Callum Hudson-Odoi – 6 – Ran up and down the touchline but didn’t really impact the game at either end.

    Mateo Kovacic – 7 – Sloppily gave the ball away in the early going but fought back and worked like a demon all game long, even making a lung-busting run and tackle in the last minute of extra time.

    N’Golo Kanté – 7 – Absolutely everywhere, as per usual. Constantly hustling to win the ball back and prevent Villarreal attacks.

    Marcos Alonso – 7 – A constant outlet down the left. Lovely pass to Havertz for Chelsea’s goal. Lucky with his penalty as he slipped.

    Hakim Ziyech – 7 – Phenomenal for 40 minutes until a shoulder injury forced him off. His movement and shooting was sharp, and his passing was crisp as he played several superb balls into the box, creating chance for his team-mates that they really should have scored from. Scored the opening goal of the game with a neat finish and the Blues looked markedly worse after he had been withdrawn.

    Kai Havertz – 7 – Continued his great form from the Euros. Was bright in his movement and created Chelsea’s opener with a lovely run and cross. Should really come to life when he has Romelu Lukaku to play off, but in the meantime he got increasingly more fatigued as the match wore on and dribbled a poor penalty into Asenjo’s arms in the shootout.

    Timo Werner – 5 – Did basically nothing. On the plus side he didn’t miss any sitters this time!

    Substitutes:

    Christian Pulisic (for Ziyech 43′) – 4 – Sharp movement. Missed a great chance to give Chelsea the lead in extra time.

    Jorginho (for Kanté 65′) – 7 – Wasn’t anywhere near fit enough, but got better as time wore on and scored his penalty with typically effortless fashion.

    Mason Mount (for Werner 65′) – 6 – Understandably sloppy at first but sharpened up as the match wore on. Good shot to open the second-half of extra time. Scored his penalty well.

    Andreas Christensen (for Zouma 66′) – 6 – Sat down in tremendous fashion by Boulaye Dia’s backheel assist on the Villarreal goal.

    Cesar Azpilicueta (for Hudson-Odoi 82′) – 6 – Helped push Chelsea back onto the front foot. Excellent penalty in the shootout.

    Kepa Arrizabalaga (for Mendy 119′) – 8 – Came on specifically for the shootout. Made a good save from Mandi to get Chelsea back in the shootout and was in the faces of every Villarreal taker, with his antics finally working on Raul Albiol as Kepa made the key save to deliver the Super Cup for Chelsea. A massive moment of redemption for a goalkeeper who has suffered so much in Chelsea blue.

    888sport Premier League offer: Get £60 in free bets when you place your first £20 bet

    CLICK HERE to claim. New customers only • 18+ only • Minimum £20 deposit using promo code PREM60 • Bet must be placed on a sports market that will be settled before the kick-off time of the first Premier League 2021/2022 match (August 13th 19:59:59BST) • Deposit balance is available for withdrawal at any time – General withdrawal restrictions & full T&Cs apply • BeGambleAware

    Villarreal

    Sergio Asenjo – 8 – Great early save from Werner. Repeatedly helped out his defenders by coming to claim countless Chelsea crosses.

    Juan Foyth – 8 – Completely unable to handle the Chelsea incursions down his flank in the first-half. Improved in the second period, especially once he moved to defensive midfield where he really held the nerve.

    Raul Albiol – 7 – Rock solid. A true leader at the back in yet another big game.

    Pau Torres – 8 – Impeccable at the back despite what must have been absurd fatigue given how much football he’s played this summer. His 2020/21 only ended four days ago!!

    Angel Pedraza – 5 – Lost Ziyech’s run on Chelsea’s goal. Was otherwise decent at driving forward into space albeit didn’t use the ball particularly well which is why he was subbed off.

    Yeremy Pino – 7 – A vibrant presence in attack, driving Chelsea back whenever he could. Lucky to leave the match with his leg in one piece after Rudiger’s crunching challenge. Faded as the match wore on but never lowered his effort level.

    Manu Trigueros – 7 – Tigerish in the middle with some really good movement off the ball.

    Etienne Capoue – 7 – Worked hard to try and combat Chelsea in the middle of the pitch but never really gained control of the game until Kanté was subbed off. Then he dominated until he, himself, was removed.

    Alberto Moreno – 7 – Raided forward every chance he got. Really lively with some deceptively intelligent passes. Thundered a volley off the bar at the end of the first-half.

    Gerard Moreno – 8 – Isolated by Chelsea’s defence for the first-half but a wonderful bit of play saw him almost set-up Alberto Moreno for an equaliser. Early in the second-half he missed a great chance to equalise, sliding a shot off the post, but in general he got better as the match wore on. Scored the equaliser with a delicious one-two with Dia and an emphatic finish beyond Mendy to make himself the highest scorer in Villarreal history with 83 goals.

    Boulaye Dia – 7 – Some delightful movement into the spaces between Chelsea’s defence. Couldn’t score but was instrumental in the structure of Villarreal’s play. Pulled off a ridiculous backheel assist for the equaliser, too.

    Substitutes:

    Pervis Estupinan (for Pedraza 58′) – 7 – Really lively presence in attack but was just lacking a bit of his top speed to break away. Scored an outrageously good penalty in the shootout.

    Mario Gaspar (for Capoue 70′) – 7 – Wonderful backheel to cut out Rudiger’s clearance and recycle possession in the build-up to Villarreal’s equaliser.

    Moi Gomez (for Trigueros 71′) – 7 – Really hardworking in the middle of the park. Scored his penalty superbly right into the corner.

    Manu Morlanes (for Moreno 85′) – 6 – Amped up the pressure.

    Daniel Raba (for Dia 85′) – 6 – Buried his penalty under immense pressure.

    Aissa Mandi (for Pino 90′) – 4 – Worked hard but didn’t impact the game much. Weak penalty, easily saved.

    Previous Article
    River Plate vs Atletico Mineiro live stream: How to watch Copa Libertadores online

    River Plate vs Atletico Mineiro live stream: How to watch...

    Next Article
    Feyenoord vs Luzern live stream: How to watch Europa Conference League Qualifying online

    Feyenoord vs Luzern live stream: Watch Europa Conference League Qualifying...

    Related Articles

    Show More