[Player Ratings] Napoli 3-1 Chelsea: How The Blues Rated….

Chelsea face an uphill battle to qualify for the quarter finals of the Champions League after being beaten 3-1 by Napoli in their last 16 first leg tie last night.

Juan Mata put the Blues ahead before a double from Lavezzi and a Cavani effort sealed the win for the home side. Here are our Chelsea player ratings:

Player Ratings

Petr Cech – 7 – Made two or three important stops in the first half and could do little about the first or second Napoli goals, but left in no mans land for the third after Luis’ error.

Branislav Ivanovic – 6 – Easily beaten by Lavezzi for the equaliser but otherwise was a strong presence at the back. Also went close following an impressive run forward.

David Luiz – 5 – At fault for the third when he failed to deal with the through ball and let Cavani in to set up Lavezzi. Struggled to deal with the Napoli forward line and also missed a golden chance to make it 2-0 to Chelsea but headed over from close range.

Gary Cahill – 5 – Like Luiz, struggled to deal with the strikers. Was caught out of position on more than one occasion and also booked for a poor tackle.

Jose Bosingwa – N/A – forced off early through injury.

Ramires – 6 – Not at his best in a more defensive role, which didn’t suit him. Missed a great chance in the first half, but doesn’t really look 100% fit yet.

Raul Meireles – 5– Was bypassed easily by Lavezzi for the equaliser and made no real impression on the game. Booked and will miss the second leg. Subbed.

Florent Malouda – 5.5 – Surprisingly given a start but failed to justify his selection. Malouda didn’t really get in the game enough and created little going forward. Subbed.

Daniel Sturridge – 7 – Always looked like he could create something when on the ball but too selfish at times. Perhaps guilty of trying to do too much, but was still a threat.

Didier Drogba – 6.5 – Made his presence felt but didn’t really capatalise against a suspect Napoli defence. Could have got in the game more and caused some real problems for the home side.

Juan Mata – 8 – The pick of the Chelsea players. Lovely, cooly taken goal and was a constant menace. Everything positive for the Blues went through this guy and he should certainly be playing in a more central role in the future.

SUBS:

Ashley Cole – 6 – No doubt he should have started in stead of Bosingwa, but even Cole couldn’t contain the impressive Napoli attack.

Michael Essien – 6 – Another surprise player to be left out and should also have started to protect a fragile Chelsea back line that was missing it’s leader in John Terry.

Frank Lampard – 6 – The third big-name to be warming the bench and Chelsea missed his goal threat from midfield. Couldn’t really get in to the game during his 20 minutes on the field.

What would your ratings be? Let us know in the comments section below…