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Stoke City 1 Chelsea 0 player ratings: Did anybody come out of the champions' seventh league defeat with credit?

How did we rate each Chelsea player's performance?

Vaishali Bhardwaj

Saturday 07 November 2015 21:01 GMT

John Terry leaves the field dejected following the defeat at Stoke (Getty Images)

Chelsea slumped to their seventh league defeat of the season against Stoke City on Saturday night.

Manager Jose Mourinho was not in attendance as he served a one-match stadium ban, incurred following the club's last away defeat - a 2-1 reverse against West Ham United last month.

With assistants Ruri Faria, Steve Howard and Silvino Louro directing things from the bench, the champions went behind to Marko Arnautovic's 53rd-minute strike.

Chelsea came close to levelling through Pedro but the former Barcelona winger saw his shot hit the upright.

The club now lie 16th in the league table and, despite his absence, doubts over Jose Mourinho’s future will persist.

The Portuguese’s name was regularly chanted by the away support, with some fans even bringing a masks and cardboard cut-outs of their controversial manager.

Clearly, he remains popular among the Stamford Bridge faithful, but whether their patience is matched by owner Roman Abramovich remains to be seen.

How did we rate the performance of Chelsea’s players during their defeat? Check out our gallery below to find out…

Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City

Show all 11

1/11Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City

Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City

Asmir Begovic - 6 out of 10

Made a superb save to deny Johnson early on, but will feel he could have done more to keep Arnautovic’s superb volley out after getting a hand to the shot.

2015 Getty Images

Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City

Cesar Azpilicueta - 4 out of 10

After a relatively comfortable first half, the defender – playing once again at right-back – failed to mark Arnautovic closely enough before he scored.

2015 Getty Images

Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City

Kurt Zouma - 5 out of 10

Had the perfect chance to open the scoring for the visitors but went too early and was flagged as offside. However, after having a near-perfect first half in terms of his defensive work, he panicked while trying to clear Johnson’s cross out of Walters’ way, and it eventually fell to goalscorer Arnautovic.

2015 Getty Images

Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City

John Terry - 4 out of 10

Should have communicated better with Baba Rahman in the build-up to the opener after running out of position to try and track the run of Johnson – but ultimately failed to do so after he allowed the Stoke defender to get his cross in.

Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City

Baba Rahman - 4 out of 10

Lost the battle on the left flank with Shaqiri several times – getting a yellow card for a foul on the Stoke winger in the process – before failing to do enough to stop Johnson from getting his cross into the box in the build-up to the opener.

Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City

Nemanja Matic - 5 out of 10

Kept Bojan quiet in the first half, winning tackles and distributing the ball well although he did deliver one disappointing pass to no one as Chelsea looked to attack one final time in the first half. However, he struggled to keep a hold of Stoke’s attacking players in the second period.

2015 Getty Images

Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City

Ramires - 5 out of 10

Had two great chances to hand Chelsea the opener in the first half but poked his first wide before being denied by Butland with his second.

Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City

Eden Hazard - 6 out of 10

His pace caused Johnson several problems and the Belgian was important in driving Chelsea’s attacking plays forwards as well as setting up his teammates for chances although they couldn’t convert them.

Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City

Pedro - 6 out of 10

Linked up well with Willian and Hazard and ran riot across the width of pitch in the first half before being unlucky to hit the post as Chelsea trailed 1-0. Came off with 20 minutes to go but enjoyed a positive match on his return from injury.

2015 Getty Images

Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City

Willian - 6 out of 10

Was one of Chelsea’s better players at the Britannia Stadium – as he has been for the Blues all season – but saw his creative powers restricted when compared to against Dynamo Kiev after being played in the middle instead of the flank.

Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City

Diego Costa - 5 out of 10

Should have scored when he failed to stretch out in time to meet Hazard’s cross, while looking slightly unsure in front of goal during some of his other chances.

2015 Getty Images

Do you agree? Who was your Chelsea man of the match?

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