Chelsea Player Ratings v Marseille

Petr Cech – 7 

Barely tested despite pressure in second half from Marseille, clean sheet and job done

Branislav Ivanovic – 6 Caught out of position regularly as Marseille counter attacked a worrying trend that threatens to cancel out the skills that the Serbian possesses, lucky we were not punished during the game.

John Terry – 9 Excellent little flick for the first goal and he performed well with Alex to prevent Marseille converting possession into goals

Alex – 8 His free kick that rattled the bar was worth the admission price on its own, also performed well defensively. Defenders and goalkeepers alike must worry when they here the chants of ALEX, ALEX, ALEX as he lines up a 35 yard free kick.

Ashley Cole -7 Effective but did not produce his usual world class brilliance, still impressive though

Mikel – 7 Much better from Mikel compared to the Manchester City game however Chelsea struggled in midfield second half.

Ramires – 6 Better than against Manchester City but improvement needed if he is to challenge for a place with the return of Frank Lampard

Michael Essien - 6

Congratulations to MarktheDog for noticing my incompetence, for that reason I have decided to honour his rating of a six!

Malouda -7

Good game for the Frenchman without being excellent

Yuri Zhirkov -5

Ok in the first half but terrible in the second, he asked for more game time, he needs to start performing if he expects his wish to be granted in the long term.

 Gael Kakuta – 7

Another start and an improved performance, still feeling his way into the first team, it was obvious that every fan was tracking his every touch of the ball with an air of expectation and hope. More to come

 Nicholas Anelka – 7

 Cheeky penalty and a solid performance from the Frenchman who rarely seems to have a bad game these days.

 Substitutes

 Daniel Sturridge – 6

Missed a screamer but was played out of position on the right rather than through the centre

 Josh McEachran – 6 Little time to make an impact