Saturday 6 December 2008
Bolton vs Chelsea 0-2 Players Rating
Jaaskelainen – 6: Although not at fault for the first goal, he failed to close down the angle and the space quick enough to throw off Anelka. Looked solid for the most part, except for an embarrassing slip which almost allowed the French striker to score his second.
Steinsson – 5.5: Stayed behind to keep a leash on Kalou and Ashley Cole. Rarely left his half to help out in attack.
Cahill – 4: Allowed Anelka to drift away from him for the first goal and then failed to close down Deco for the second, which turned out to be the killer blow.
O’Brien – 6: Showed a good sense of positioning to make countless crucial interceptions. But like Cahill, the only times he allowed his men to sneak away proved costly.
Samuel – 5.5: Bombarded forward down the flank frequently but there was never any end product. Disappointing deliveries into the box.
Davies – 6.5: Had a few decent scoring chances throughout the game. Diligently back-tracked to help out defensively when needed.
Nolan – 7: A constant menace in the air inside the
McCann – 7: Pulled the strings from midfield, spraying passes and crosses everywhere. Had some intriguing personal battles in the centre of the park.
Muamba – 4: A largely anonymous performance. His only real input to the game was a long range attempt at goal late in the first half, which was also his last contribution
Elmander – 6.5: Restricted to long range attempts. Hardly had a sniff of goal inside the box.
Substitutes:
Smolarek – N/A
Cech – 5.5: Very shaky with crosses and high balls. But easily dealt with everything
Bosingwa – 7.5: Cleverly disguised a shot to set up Anelka’s opener. As usual, a real livewire down the right flank. Even had a chance to add his name on the scoresheet late in the game.
Terry – 7.5: Always put himself infront of the ball whenever
Alex – 6: Allowed the ball and his men to get away from him on numerous occasions. Didn’t look too assured at the back and didn’t have a good understanding with his backline.
Ashley Cole – 6.5: Got forward occasionally but didn’t look threatening enough. Had little trouble at the back down the flank and helped out regularly in the centre of defence.
Mikel – 6.5: Didn’t join the attack too much. Hung deep in front of the back four for most of the match to tidy up any loose ends.
Deco – 8: Given all the time and space in the world to execute his overhead bicycle kick perfectly. Completely dominated the midfield in the first half with his crisp passing and pin-point crosses.
Lampard – 6: A very low-key display. Quietly allowed Deco to run the show and chipped in only when necessary with a few one-touch passes. Almost disappeared completely from sight in the second period.
Ballack – 6.5: Like Lampard, there was nothing spectacular from the German. Had more to do defensively than offensively. But credit to him, he played his part to win his fair share of challenges in midfield.
Kalou – 6.5: Ghosted in unnoticed behind the
Anelka – 7: Cleverly stayed on side and read Bosingwa’s disguised cross. Had a few more chances to score after that but failed to convert them.
Substitutes:
Ferreira – 5: Only had a couple of touches of the ball, but one of which almost set up Bosingwa for a goal late on.
Ivanovic – N/A
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