Kepa Arrizabalaga Deservedly kept his place in the team and had little to do until a fine stop to deny Moussa Marega midway through the second period before then denying Mohamed Kanno with a stunning dive to his left with 68 on the clock. The big question is whether he retains it for Saturday, when Edouard Mendy will have acclimatised. Replacing him would be very harsh but it would be for the world’s current top No1. 8
Andreas Christensen Gave away possession with first touch to allow Odion Ighalo a shot at goal and then fouled the striker on three minutes. But aside from that he was solid. Had a half-hearted penalty shout after some dragging before a corner was taken ignored. 5
Thiago Silva Drove a speculative attempt, Chelsea’s first, from range harmlessly wide. Made a couple of important blocks. 6
Toni Rudiger The Marega chance arrived from too much space being left on the German’s side. He had a good effort from a corner saved. 5
Cesar Azpilicueta Got forward more as the first half progressed and sent in a couple of threatening crosses, including one for Lukaku that should really have been finished. Solid out of possession. 6
Jorginho Half chance on the rebound from a corner blocked when heading on target. Moved the ball nicely, as usual, but was replaced for N’Golo Kante at the break. It was not immediately clear if that was on account of an injury. 6
Mateo Kovacic Tidy and kept the ball moving nicely without ever doing much in the final third. Rarely gave the ball away and defensively sound. Booked entering the latter stages. 7
Marcos Alonso Got forward well and had two shots from range. Bailed out after being robbed of possession twice in advanced positions as Al Hilal pushed for a leveller. 5
Hakim Ziyech Lively in his favoured right wing position. Deliveries from set pieces were a mixed bag and saw a couple of goalbound efforts blocked with one fizzing drive on the hour mark well saved. Replaced with less than 20 minutes to go. 6
Romelu Lukaku Marginally offside when played in by Ziyech for first glimpse of goal, although the shot was saved by Almuaiouf Abdullah, and really should have done better when reaching for an Azpilicueta cross soon after. But all that seemed irrelevant once he opened the scoring, even though it arrived via a gift from Al Hilal left back Yasir Al Shahrani, and his general play seemed much improved from that point on with several opportunities created for team-mates unable to finish. 7
Kai Havertz Making his first start in five weeks, the 22-year-old had a relatively quiet start but quality showed with some good wing play before delivering the cross that eventually led to Lukaku opening the scoring. 6
Substitutes
N’Golo Kante (for Jorginho, h-t) Typically busy. 6
Mason Mount (for Ziyech, 71) Should have killed the game off 11 minutes from the end but produced a scuffed shot that only led to a corner. 5
Malang Sarr (for Alonso, 87) n/a
Not used: Edouard Mendy, Marcus Bettinelli, Kenedy, Trevoh Chalobah, Ross Barkley, Saul Niguez, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Christian Pulisic, Timo Werner.
