Mads Hermansen: His defence’s blocks and interventions meant, despite Blackburn’s early pressure, he didn’t have much to do in the first half. In the second, he was left exposed for the first Szmodics goal but flew out of his goal for the second, failing to get to the ball and allowing the division’s top scorer a tap-in. 4
James Justin: He threw himself in the way of shots early on to keep Blackburn at bay. But despite being afforded greater freedom by his wide-right role, he didn’t make use of it. In the second half, he was fortunate to stay on the pitch after a crunching late tackle on Dolan. 5
Hamza Choudhury: He showed composure in spells, keeping the ball well, and had a greater confidence about his game at times to charge through the middle of the pitch. But he also lost the ball cheaply on occasion. 5
Jannik Vestergaard: He was completely outmuscled and outsmarted by Szmodics for the opening goal, and was never going to have the pace to get back and make amends. Otherwise, he was okay, with his passing good as usual. But mistakes like that are going to be punished, particularly in the Premier League. 4
Wout Faes: When he got forward, his crosses were poor, despite his dangerous deliveries of recent weeks. In spite of that, he defended with strength and speed and passed well. 6
Harry Winks: He was robbed of the ball for one threatening Blackburn attack early on and he frustrated Maresca by not turning out with the ball, instead going backwards. He was better in the second half and in control of the tempo. 5
Ricardo Pereira: There were a few sloppy moments, but he also showed great footwork, he found Fatawu regularly, and he made himself an attacking threat in the box, and looked most likely to score as he read crosses well to connect. His finishing was lacking though. 7
Wilfred Ndidi: He made an important interception to deny a goalscoring chance early on and was decent in tight areas when the ball came his way. But he was anonymous for long periods too. 5
Leave a Reply