Happy Gilmour

In his previous appearances for the Blues, Gilmour has been utilised in the base of midfield by Frank Lampard, but with Jorginho also starting he lined up on the left of our midfield three in a more advanced role.

His impact was obvious. His 97 touches of the ball was the highest such figure on the pitch, and only Toni Rudiger (8.2 per cent) spent more time in possession than Gilmour (7.8 per cent) and completed more passes than him (77 to 74).

In the final third, Gilmour supplied three key passes and got a couple of shots away, too, one on target and the other blocked. He was also successful with two dribbles, and intercepted the ball twice. It was a clear display of his all-round midfield capabilities and why Lampard hailed his performance as ‘outstanding’ afterwards.

Emerson’s standout stats

With full debutant Tino Anjorin often tucking in off the left to play nearer Tammy Abraham, it was Emerson’s responsibility to cover plenty of ground down that flank, and he certainly delivered.

The Italian international recorded game-high figures for key passes, successful dribbles and pass completion rate. His four tackles won was the same figure as Anjorin managed, and he also got a couple of shots away.

It was with Gilmour that Emerson combined most often – the duo completed 35 passes between them.

Other statistical highlights

We had 18 attempts of which five were on target and four blocked. Krasnodar had seven.

We enjoyed a 63.9 per cent share of possession, and our pass success rate was 87 per cent.

As well as his high passing stats, Rudiger also recorded game-high figures for aerial duels won (seven) and clearances completed (six).