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Chelsea player ratings vs Man City: Cole Palmer flounders again as Moises Caicedo & Andrey Santos errors compound Blues' day of misery

Chelsea had the ball in the net inside 16 minutes after Joao Pedro danced his way past several City defenders before slipping through Marc Cucurella to finish, but the goal was chalked off for a marginal offside call.

Five minutes into the second half, the hosts fell behind. A delectable cross from Rayan Cherki found left-back Nico O'Reilly, who had evaded the marking of Andrey Santos and crashed in a header.

Soon after, Chelsea found themselves two goals down. Cherki was once more the architect, dribbling his way into the box from a corner and playing in Marc Guehi with a clever pass between two defenders, and the City centre-back found the bottom corner with a shot befitting a striker.

It went from bad to worse for Rosenior's side when City then added a third. Moises Caicedo cheaply surrendered possession to Jeremy Doku on the edge of his own box and the Belgian was able to slot past Robert Sanchez at the near post.

Chelsea's rotten afternoon was brought to an end after eight minutes of added time as City stole the spoils, with the home fans who hadn't made an early exit booing their side off at the whistle.

GOAL rates Chelsea's players from Stamford Bridge...

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    Goalkeeper & Defence

    Robert Sanchez (5/10):

    Made some routine saves in the first half before the collapse. Angered fans with three long hoofs straight to opposite number Gianluigi Donnarumma.

    Malo Gusto (5/10):

    Chelsea's defenders weren't really to blame for the three goals conceded, including Gusto, who marshalled Doku to an extent until Caicedo gifted him the opening for City's third. Came off for Acheampong in the closing stages.

    Wesley Fofana (6/10):

    Sometimes Fofana proves more hassle than he's worth, but this was a decent display with several headed clearances to take Erling Haaland out of the game.

    Jorrel Hato (6/10):

    Similarly showed up in the nick of time on multiple occasions to ensure Haaland couldn't get a shot away.

    Marc Cucurella (6/10):

    Wasn't scared of his battle with Antoine Semenyo. Denied a goal by a tight offside call. Had that stood, maybe Chelsea wouldn't have collapsed so spectacularly.

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    Midfield

    Moises Caicedo (3/10):

    Another big game where Chelsea's defensive anchor let himself and the team down with an inexplicable error, turning into trouble to allow Doku in for City's third goal. Taken out of the firing line late on for Essugo.

    Andrey Santos (3/10):

    Playing Santos together with Caicedo felt a bit redundant in possession. Allowed O'Reilly to score the opener by completely taking his eye off the cross. Subbed for Lavia.

    Cole Palmer (5/10):

    Dropped extremely deep to help out in midfield. Appeared only mildly threatening in the final third. Booed by the fans who used to cheer him in the away end.

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    Attack

    Estevao Willian (4/10):

    Couldn't get into the game at all despite showing so much promise in many of his previous Chelsea outings. An early booking for kicking the ball away was the highlight and lowlight of his day. Taken off for Garnacho.

    Joao Pedro (5/10):

    Showed the adventure and ambition required to try and cause an upset, though his efforts were in vain. Seemed fairly crestfallen when walking off to be replaced by Delap.

    Pedro Neto (5/10):

    Lively in the first half before drifting into the abyss after the break.

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    Subs & Manager

    Romeo Lavia (5/10):

    Replaced Santos but had little impact against his former club.

    Alejandro Garnacho (5/10):

    Subbed on for Estevao though was unable to make a mark.

    Liam Delap (N/A):

    Came on for the final 10 minutes against his old side, replacing Pedro.

    Dario Essugo (N/A):

    On for Caicedo for his Premier League debut.

    Josh Acheampong (N/A):

    A late sub for Gusto.

    Liam Rosenior (5/10):

    There were stretches of the game where Chelsea appeared the team in control, but that feeling evaporated as soon as City scored.