Chelsea Player Ratings vs. Charlton: Rosenior’s Reign Off to Perfect Start

A rotated Chelsea side were hardly tested at The Valley.

Chelsea made light work of Charlton. / Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC/Getty Images

Liam Rosenior tasted victory in his first game as Chelsea manager as the Blues booked their spot in the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 5–1 win over Charlton.

With away fans still voicing their frustrations towards club ownership, Rosenior and a rotated Chelsea side handled business well on the pitch. Jorrel Hato crashed home a delightful opener shortly before half-time, before Tosin Adarabioyo and Marc Guiu netted either side of an attempted Charlton response.

With the game already done, Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernández both struck in stoppage time to send Chelsea breezing into the hat for the next round.

Chelsea’s new manager introduced some of his own tactics in an encouraging first display from the boss, although greater conclusions will be drawn after Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Arsenal.

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Chelsea Player Ratings vs. Charlton (4-2-3-1)

Marc Guiu took his goal well. / Rob Newell/CameraSport/Getty Images

*Ratings Provided by FotMob*

GK: Filip Jörgensen—7.2: Not particularly busy throughout. A stunning save which was cruelly punished on the rebound for Charlton’s goal.

RB: Josh Acheampong—8.0: A really impressive performance from the youngster, who looked comfortable on both sides of the ball. Charged forward with regularity and combined well with Gittens ahead of him.

CB: Tosin Adarabioyo—8.2: Had limited defending to do but didn’t always cover himself in glory. Took his goal well early in the second half.

CB: Benoît Badiashile—7.3: Looked very nervous early on as he picked up a yellow card and sheepishly walked away from another telling-off soon after. Let the ball bounce one too many times.

LB: Jorrel Hato—8.2: Defended as a left back but attacked high up in central midfield. Found himself in plenty of nice positions and took his goal with real quality. A stunning way to open his Chelsea account.

DM: Moisés Caicedo—8.5: His typically lively self as he charged around to disrupt Charlton’s rare attempts to counter. Looked very comfortable with Santos alongside him.

DM: Andrey Santos—8.1: Combined well with Caicedo as the added physicality and extra defensive legs meant the Ecuador international did not need to reach superhuman status here.

RM: Jamie Gittens—7.5: Involved in absolutely everything during his time on the pitch as he tormented Charlton’s left side. Usually let down by his end product but a very encouraging start to the Rosenior tenure.

AM: Facundo Buonanotte—8.2: Given plenty of freedom to roam around Chelsea’s forward line and tried to make the most of it with some smart passes, but struggled to break down Charlton’s deep defence.

LM: Alejandro Garnacho—6.4: Clearly followed instructions to stay as wide as possible throughout. Looked isolated and watched on as Gittens enjoyed all the possession on the other side of the pitch.

ST: Marc Guiu—8.2: Put himself about well but managed just nine touches in the first half, although one was the assist for Hato’s opener. Improved after the break and showed nice poaching instincts for his goal.

Substitute	Rating (Out of 10)
Estêvão (65’ for Gittens)	7.5
Enzo Fernández (69’ for Buonanotte)	8.7
Liam Delap (69’ for Guiu)	6.2
Pedro Neto (84’ for Garnacho)	N/A
Wesley Fofana (84’ for Hato)	N/A

Subs not used: Robert Sánchez (GK), Trevoh Chalobah, Dário Essugo, João Pedro.

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Charlton (3-1-4-2)

Starting XI: Will Mannion; Keenan Gough, Lloyd Jones, Amari’i Bell; Conor Coventry; James Bree, Greg Docherty, Sonny Carey, Tyreece Campbell; Miles Leaburn, Charlie Kelman.

Subs used: Karoy Anderson, Macaulay Gillesphey, Joe Rankin-Costello, Tanto Olaofe, Harvey Knibbs.

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Player of the Match: Enzo Fernández (Chelsea)

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Charlton 1–5 Chelsea: How it Unfolded at The Valley

An energetic performance from Chelsea. / Chris Lee/Chelsea FC/Getty Images

Chelsea fans needed a few minutes to work out their team’s formation. Billed initially as a 4-2-3-1, it soon transformed into a three-at-the-back setup in possession, with left back Hato playing in attacking midfield and Alejandro Garnacho glued to the touchline.

It was Charlton, however, who made the strongest start to the game. The hosts were brave and looked to punish some obvious Chelsea nerves before the match was halted 10 minutes in due to a medical emergency in the crowd.

After a five-minute pause, Chelsea were almost ahead. Facundo Buonanotte’s cross found Hato alone in the box, but the Dutchman could not control his header and Charlton stopper Will Mannion made the save. A low strike from the lively Jamie Gittens was comfortably repelled soon after.

Chelsea began to flex their quality as the half progressed amid a chorus of anti-ownership chants from the away fans who had begun the game by serenading former owner Roman Abramovich.

Josh Acheampong’s strike from range drew a diving save from Mannion, as did another effort from Gittens in first half stoppage time, but there would be no stopping the thunderous half-volley from Hato which sent the Blues into the break with the lead.

Jorrel Hato’s thunderous strike was the highlight. / Rob Newell/CameraSport/Getty Images

Charlton survived a goalmouth scramble and a handball scare inside the first 90 seconds of the second half, but Chelsea would soon find their second goal. Tosin found space to meet a free kick from Buonanotte and steered his header beyond Mannion. Chelsea fans celebrated with more anti-Clearlake taunts.

Alejandro Garnacho bent wide in search of the game’s third goal but, instead, that went to the hosts as Miles Leaburn crashed home the rebound from an excellent Filip Jörgensen save 57 minutes in.

Despite the home fans willing their side forward, Chelsea sucked the air out of The Valley just moments later. Guiu was first to react to a rebounded save and slammed the ball into an unguarded net to restore Chelsea’s cushion.

Liam Delap scuffed a great chance for a fourth and Mannion did well to steer an Enzo Fernández strike over the bar as Chelsea continued to press on. Estêvão added to the shot total with a handful of efforts of his own.

As the fog began to descend, substitute Pedro Neto drilled home a fourth in stoppage time, flashing some fancy footwork to find the space needed to wrong-foot Mannion and put what looked like the exclamation point on a comfortable victory for Chelsea before Estêvão won a penalty moments later.

Up stepped Enzo Fernández with the last kick of the game, and the popular Argentine made no mistake from 12 yards to send fans home happy.

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Charlton vs. Chelsea Half-Time Stats

Statistic	Charlton	Chelsea
Possession	22%	78%
Expected Goals (xG)	0.15	0.98
Total Shots	4	11
Shots on Target	0	6
Big Chances	0	2
Pass Accuracy	65%	93%
Fouls Committed	4	5
Corners	2	4

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Charlton vs. Chelsea Full Time Stats

Statistic	Charlton	Chelsea
Possession	26%	74%
Expected Goals (xG)	0.95	3.59
Total Shots	11	30
Shots on Target	3	16
Big Chances	1	9
Pass Accuracy	71%	92%
Fouls Committed	11	7
Corners	3	6

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