Mendy 7, Havertz 5, Werner 5; Rakitic 6: Chelsea v Sevilla player ratings

Manager Frank Lampard delighted by the Blues' defensive strength

CHELSEA: Edouard Mendy - 7, Looked reliable in the Chelsea goal and made some good saves – something that has not been said about Blues stoppers too many times recently. EPA

Reece James - 7, Stood strong in his defensive work, though his attacking threat was slightly nullified. EPA

Thiago Silva - 7, Seemed to pick up an injury in the warmup, but this didn’t show in his performance, as he looked assured throughout. Getty

Kurt Zouma - 5, They weren’t costly, but there were a few moments where the Frenchman looked very shaky. Reuters

Ben Chilwell - 7, He’s settled in brilliantly at Stamford Bridge and looked comfortable once again. Was booked for pulling Ocampos’ shirt. AFP

N’Golo Kante - 6, Looked off the pace at times, though he did cover plenty of ground – as is expected of the Frenchman. AP

Jorginho - 6, Got an early card for a cynical foul on Lucas Ocampos which limited him. He grew into the game as time went on before being taken off. AFP

Christian Pulisic - 6, Had a very quiet first half, but he looked more threatening after being moved on to the left wing. Getty

Kai Havertz - 5, His play was pretty at times, but the German lost possession far too easily and unnecessarily. Getty

Mason Mount - 5, Struggled to create much and was booked for pulling Suso’s shirt after losing the ball. EPA

Timo Werner - 5, Threatened to cause trouble but didn’t manage it. Wasted some good chances, the best of which came at the end of the first half. EPA

SUBS: Hakim Ziyech (Mount 62’) - 5, Got into some good positions but struggled to make the most of them. Showed flashes of his technical brilliance. Reuters

Mateo Kovacic (Jorginho 65’) - 6, Showed good authority from the moment he came on to the pitch. PA

Tammy Abraham (Werner 91’) - N/R, Got his appearance fee and did a nice flick. Job done. Getty

SUB Callum Hudson-Odoi (Pulisic 91’) – N/R, Pretty much his only involvement was a misunderstanding with Chilwell. Getty

SEVILLA: Yassine Bounou - 6, Looked very confident when called upon, whether that was with his hands or feet, and was never overstretched. AP

Jesus Navas - 7, Nullified Mount and dealt with Pulisic well. Also gave a good option down the right hand side. EPA

Sergi Gomez - 6, Looked strong defensively during his time on the pitch, but was forced off through injury in the 33rd minute. AP

Diego Carlos - 5, Was solid enough defensively, but some of his passing was awful. EPA

Marcos Acuna - 8, Was behind some brilliant attacking play down the left. Largely looked comfortable defensively – the one time he wasn’t he got booked for pulling Pulisic’s shirt. Reuters

Ivan Rakitic - 6, The Croatian was good in his general play, but his final ball was off at times. Getty

Fernando - 7, Looked strong starting in midfield, which he continued when filling in at centre-back after Gomez went off injured. AP

Nemanja Gudelj - 7, Was dominant in his play and almost got on the scoresheet but was denied by an impressive save from Mendy. Got a blow to the face from Zouma. EPA

Suso - 4, He was really quiet. That was partly due to a lack of service, but he was nowhere near quick enough when he had the ball at his feet. AFP

Luuk de Jong - 6, His hold up play was brilliant, allowing him to bring teammates into the game. Didn’t get many chances of his own in front of goal. AFP

Lucas Ocampos - 6, Had some bright moments and got a couple of half chances but failed to make the most of them. AP

SUBS: Joan Jordan (Gomez, 33’) - 6, Slotted into the midfield seamlessly and came closest to scoring a winner. Was booked for a late foul on Puliisic. AP

Oliver Torres (Suso 58’) - 6, Injected some of the energy that Suso was missing but couldn’t have a major impact. EPA

Youssef En-Nesyri (de Jong 80’) – N/R, Pressed well but didn’t really get a chance to work Mendy. EPA

Franco Vazquez (Rakitic 80’) – N/R, Looked a bit clumsy on the ball – this won’t have done much to help him get more game time. Getty

Frank Lampard admitted Edouard Mendy has already become Chelsea's first-choice goalkeeper after the former Rennes stopper helped the Blues secure a goalless draw against Sevilla in the Champions League.

Mendy shook off a thigh issue to start the Group E opener at Stamford Bridge, which left Lampard delighted with his side's more robust shape.

Asked if Mendy is already Chelsea's first choice, Lampard said: "At the moment yes; he's shown his quality.

"The way he's played, he's played very well, that's two clean sheets for him already.

"As it stands he is (the No 1) but that's always up for grabs. But the way he's playing I'm very happy.

"I was pleased with the professional element. Seville are a top team in European football, no doubt.

"The concentration and focus to get the result was big from the team. We made a lot of good decisions tonight, so it's a really nice place for us to build from. I think it's a positive result. The clean sheet was a big deal for us."

Out-of-form Kepa Arrizabalaga dropped to the bench on Mendy's return after another afternoon to forget in Saturday's 3-3 draw with Southampton.

Chelsea were solid against Sevilla if a little uninspiring in attack, though the Blues will be delighted with an improved defensive showing.

Chelsea registered former goalkeeper Petr Cech in their Premier League squad on Tuesday, with the 38-year-old on hand if required in a coronavirus-related emergency.

Cech is still younger than 39-year-old Blues veteran keeper Willy Caballero, and is on hand if required now despite retiring in the summer of 2019.

Chelsea's technical director has been training with the senior squad for several weeks, with Lampard insisting it was a "no-brainer" to add him to the league ranks.

"It's definitely not done for the romance, Pete enjoys the training, that's how he is," said Lampard.

"With Pete it's something I wouldn't expect to happen but with how fit he is if we were in crisis we couldn't have anyone better than Petr Cech around."