A 3/10 that might be generous – player ratings for Chelsea v Man Utd

October 31, 2026 · by SPW Pipeline

Getty ImagesNizaar Kinsella, Football reporter and Simon Stone, Chief football news reporter at Stamford Bridge

49 minutes ago

Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer scored second-half goals as Chelsea secured a 2-0 home win over 10-man Manchester United, who endured another desperate day.

Chelsea‘s record £117m signing Rogers opened the scoring in the 50th minute before United defender Lisandro Martinez was sent off after conceding a penalty, which Palmer converted.

Here’s how BBC Sport’s reporters at Stamford Bridge rated the players and your verdicts on the performances.

Chelsea

Mike Penders: The Belgian goalkeeper remains under pressure after his mistake against Tottenham last week, but he was steady here and made several comfortable saves. 7

Josh Acheampong: The young defender looked shaky early on but recovered well, making a fantastic block from a Bruno Fernandes volley and improving as the game went on. 6

Wesley Fofana: The Frenchman made a brilliant block from one of Amad Diallo’s shots but was twice at fault as the winger broke clear on the counter-attack. His header also struck the post after taking a deflection off Moises Caicedo in a chaotic display. Fofana also won the second-half penalty. 5

Levi Colwill: The England defender was part of an overall poor defensive display but did not make any obvious errors himself. 6

Marco Palestra: The Italian made some good recovery runs on his first start for Chelsea but was also part of a below-par defensive display from an organisational perspective. 7

Moises Caicedo: Influential presence in a scrappy midfield battle, helping Chelsea compete physically in the centre of the pitch. 6

Romeo Lavia: Often the player who helped Chelsea play through United’s pressure, sparking several counter-attacks with intelligent passing. Won the ball for Chelsea‘s opener. 7

Pedro Neto: Arguably Chelsea‘s most dangerous attacker but finishing let him down, with one effort saved and another fired well wide in the first half. 6

Cole Palmer: A quiet game by his standards and unconvincingly scored a second-half penalty. Aside from that, he attempted an ambitious effort from inside his own half and gifted United one of their major chances. 6

Estevao Willian: Lost possession with his first touch but recovered impressively. Looked lively throughout, having a couple of dangerous-looking shots on goal and two that he scored but were ruled out for offside. His set-pieces were also of consistent high quality. 8

Morgan Rogers: A surprisingly anonymous start and struggled in the number nine position until he was given the chance to run at United’s defence, scoring with a sublime dink in the 50th minute. 8

Subs:

Pep Chavarria (on 71, Palestra): Game was already won when he entered. 6

Malo Gusto (on 86, Pedro Neto)

Valentin Barco (on 86, Estevao Willian)

Danny Welbeck (on 86, Moises Caicedo)

Geovany Quenda on 90, Cole Palmer)

Manchester United

Senne Lammens: Alive to Palmer’s attempt to catch him out with a quickly taken free-kick. Was lucky to get away with a poor save early on, thanks to offside flag. Solid after that. No chance with Rogers goal. 7

Leny Yoro: Speed essential to deal with Chelsea counter-attacks but sometimes ran out of position. 7

Harry Maguire: Authoritative presence at heart of defence for most part but yet again unable to stop gap opening up for Rogers to score. 7

Lisandro Martinez: Did OK and looked good – until Chelsea scored. Then gave penalty away and red-carded for ridiculous moment of recklessness. 3

Diogo Dalot: Played out of position again at left-back and Estevao threatened down his side, but Dalot stuck to his task gamely. 6

Andrey Santos: So close to a memorable goal against his old club. Crucial intervention to deny Moises Caicedo a clear sight at goal at the other end. Difficult second half. 5

Carlos Baleba: Was having his best game in a United shirt so far and tried to prod the visitors forward. But impetuous tackle in midfield proved extremely costly as Rogers ran through to score. 5

Amad Diallo: Looked sharp. Tested Mike Penders from long range and also at his near post. Fofana blocked another goal-bound effort. Should have scored before half-time. 7

Bruno Fernandes: Returned as captain and should have put the visitors ahead when Mbeumo picked him out. Nearly set up Mbeumo. Better but not brilliant. 6

Matheus Cunha: Most impact of any recent game. Linked well with the visitors’ attack but didn’t threaten a goal. 6

Bryan Mbeumo: Set up a chance for Fernandes, then nearly reached a far-post cross from his captain. Gave Chelsea a problem but couldn’t get last bit right. 6

Subs:

Kobbie Mainoo (on 58, Baleba): Not on long enough to make an impact before Martinez red. After that it was damage limitation. 6

Ayden Heaven (on 66, Andrey Santos): Time for a regular start? 5

Mason Mount (on 66, Cunha): Usual abuse from the home fans and nothing to answer it with. 5

Joshua Zirkzee (on 77, Amad): 5

How did you rate the players?

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Player of the match

M. Rogers 7.90

Chelsea
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Source: www.bbc.co.uk — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.

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