Carabao Cup 2017/18, Chelsea 5-1 Nottingham Forest F.C.: Player Ratings

Chelsea cruised through to the fourth round of the Carabao(EFL) Cup with a 5-1 thrashing of Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge.

Goals from Kenedy, Charly Musonda and Michy Batshuayi (three) made the difference on Wednesday night, as the Premier League champions outclassed their second-tier opposition.

Chelsea, who have won this competition five times in the past, will face Everton in the next round.

Here's a look at the player ratings from Chelsea's victory last night:

Chelsea

Willy Caballero - 6/10

Thibaut Courtois’ backup looked a little nervous early on, although he did settle down as the game wore on. Caballero will have far busier shifts than this – Forest only managed two shots on target.

Antonio Rudiger - 8/10

It was Rudiger’s cross that set up the opening goal on Wednesday, guided home by Kenedy at the back post. The former Roma defender was solid at the other end of the field and tidy in possession throughout.

Andreas Christensen - 8/10

Deployed in the centre of Chelsea’s back three, Christensen barely put a foot wrong all night. The Dane kept Forest's strikers under control and passed the ball out from the back well.

Chelsea v Nottingham Forest - Carabao Cup Third Round

Gary Cahill - 7/10

Cahill recovered after a couple of sloppy mistakes early on, to turn in an accomplished display. His reading of the game was excellent throughout.

Davide Zappacosta - 7/10

Zappacosta did not provide the same type of speed and directness as first-choice right wing-back Victor Moses, but he was solid defensively and used the ball well.

Cesc Fabregas - 7/10

Fabregas' range and quality of passing is well known by now, but he still has the capacity to amaze with his distribution. There were a couple of tremendous balls on Wednesday, although the Spaniard did fade - perhaps to conserve his energy - as the match wore on.

Tiemoue Bakayoko - 7/10

A dynamic, box-to-box midfielder by trade, Bakayoko played a more disciplined role here, often sitting deeper in the engine room and allowing Fabregas to wander forward.

Kenedy - 8/10

The Brazilian opened the scoring for the Blues with a beautifully controlled volley in the 13th minute and was a constant attacking threat down the left flank.

Charly Musonda - 9/10

The 20-year-old was superb in his first Chelsea start, posing constant questions of the Forest defence with his speedy running and mazy dribbling.

Michy Batshuayi - 9/10

Batshuayi scored a hat-trick on Wednesday, but curiously, he probably was not Chelsea's star man. His second was a tap-in and he did not know anything about his third, but the Belgian did all that was asked of him and more.

Eden Hazard - 9/10

Hazard was sensational on Wednesday evening, when he impressed with his immaculate touch and control in tight spaces.

One particular piece of skill drew gasps from the crowd as a trio of Forest players were taken out of the game with just two touches of the ball, while he later did brilliantly to set up Batshuayi for his second.

Substitutes:

Ethan Ampadu - 7/10

The former Exeter City youngster put himself about in the centre of the park and looked to get forward whenever he had an opportunity to do so.

Jake Clarke-Salter - 7/10

The centre-back was composed and assured after replacing Christensen, although he was not really tested defensively by Forest.

Dujon Sterling - N/A

The debutant youngster kept things simple on the few occasions he received the ball, but he did not have enough time to make an impact.

Nottingham Forest

Stephen Henderson - 4/10

The Forest goalkeeper should have kept out Musonda’s effort, which crept under his body. He arguably could have done better for the fourth goal too, when Hazard rounded him and laid the ball on a plate for Batshuayi.

Joe Worrall - 5/10

Worrall looked a little shaky in the first half, but he recovered after the interval. The centre-back will still have been a little disappointed with some of his defending, though.

Jack Hobbs - 4/10

Hobbs marshalled the defensive unit from the centre of Forest's back five, but he was guilty of some poor positioning at times. Despite being commanding in the air, Hobbs was a little slow across the ground.

Michael Mancienne - 5/10

The former Chelsea man was the best of Forest's defensive bunch, but even he was unable to handle Batshuayi, Musonda and Hazard.

Eric Lichaj - 3/10

Forest manager Mark Warburton repeatedly warned Lichaj of Kenedy's threat in the opening 10 minutes, but the right wing-back still failed to prevent the Brazilian breaking the deadlock. He was frequently overrun down the right flank and did not offer much in an attacking sense.

Andreas Bouchalakis - 5/10

Bouchalakis sat at the base of the Forest midfield and looked to break up Chelsea attacks, as well as instigating his own side’s forays forward. He had some decent moments in possession but lacked a little mobility without the ball.

Ben Osborn - 6/10

Osborn was not particularly bad on Wednesday, but the game did seem to pass him by at times. Nevertheless, the Derby-born midfielder linked up nicely with his midfield team-mates on occasion.

Kieran Dowell - 7/10

The 19-year-old, who is on loan at the City Ground from Everton, showed some neat touches in tight areas as he looked to link the midfield and attack.

Dowell took up dangerous positions between the lines and was his team’s chief threat going forward, while he was unfortunate to see his first-half free-kick come back off the bar.

Daniel Fox - 5/10

Fox looked a little unsure of whether he should track Musonda's runs across the final third of the pitch, which caused problems for Forest. His game was ended by a crunching tackle from Chelsea youngster Ampadu.

Tyler Walker - 5/10

The son of Forest legend Des Walker, Tyler was often isolated up front as Forest were pinned back in their own half of the field. Overall, Walker struggled to make an impression on the match.

Jason Cummings - 6/10

Cummings worked tirelessly at the top of the pitch, running the channels and pressing from the front as Chelsea looked to build from the back. Unfortunately for the Forest forward, both of his shots were blocked.

Substitutes

Tendayi Darikwa - 7/10

The ex-Burnley man was introduced at right wing-back in the second half, presumably with the unenviable task of containing Hazard. Darikwa did a decent job of that and even scored a consolatory goal late on.

Ben Brereton - 7/10

One of Forest’s best chances fell to Brereton, whose left-footed shot slammed into the side netting. The substitute provided energy and a few good touches in the second period.

Zach Clough - N/A

Clough entered the fray in the closing stages and did not have enough time to be accurately judged.