Valencia vs Chelsea: Player Ratings from Chelsea's 1-1 Draw

Chelsea did everything right for 80 minutes.

The final 10 minutes? Not so much.

Chelsea took a 1-0 lead in its Champions League Group E encounter with Valencia on Wednesday through Frank Lampard's excellent 56th minute goal. Playing on the road, Chelsea did well to absorb Valencia's early attacks and slowly imposed its will on the match.

The strategy worked until the closing stages of the second half.

Lampard was subbed out in the 83rd minute and Chelsea's midfield suffered immediately. Before long, Valencia came back into the game.

Lampard's replacement, Salomon Kalou, gave away a penalty with a foolish handball in the 87th minute and Valencia's Roberto Soldado was more than happy to equalize.

At the final whistle, Juan Mata and Ashley Cole earned pointless yellow cards. The bookings meant nothing in the match, but they could be damaging later in the competition.

For now, though, Chelsea comes away from its first Champions League trip with a point and the Group E lead.

In other words, it could have been a lot worse. And in fact, Wednesday's performance was strong overall.

Here are our ratings of Chelsea's players from the match.

Goalkeeper

Petr Cech: 6.5

For all of Valencia's possession in the first half, Cech didn't have much to do. He was steady and solid, though, when Valencia tried to fight back after Chelsea took its second half lead. He made a nice reaction save on a deflected shot in the 75th minute and saved Jonas' shot at full length, 10 minutes later. His only iffy moment was in the 66th minute when he came off his line and nearly got himself in trouble.

Defenders

John Terry: 6.5

Terry is getting older. At times on Wednesday, that was obvious. He struggled with Pablo Hernandez's pace, giving the Valencia man too much room to move for a 25th minute chance. And Terry was also beaten late in the second half by Soldado, whose touch let him down before he could shoot. But Terry also kept his defense organized, showed strength in his aerial chances, made a number of important clearances and saving touches, and stayed calm when playing the ball out of the back. All in all, a solid performance.

David Luiz: 6.0

He needlessly gave away a free kick in a dangerous spot late in the first half. Otherwise he played well enough.

Ashley Cole: 6.0

Cole turned in his usual performance combining strong offense and adequate defense. He lost his cool at the final whistle, earning a yellow card that might prove costly later in the group stages.

Jose Bosingwa: 6.5

Bosingwa got forward well, providing the cross on Lampard's goal. He also defended fine.

Midfielders

Frank Lampard: 7.0

Lampard showed his manager and his critics that he still has plenty left to offer. After storming off the bench in Chelsea's most recent league match, Lampard came back into the starting lineup and had a solid, assured, veteran performance. His final pass to Torres in the 54th minute should have resulted in a goal, and he tallied a goal of his own with a clinical near-post finish two minutes later.

John Mikel Obi: 6.5

Mikel had a quiet outing, but that's exactly what Chelsea wanted. He sat in front of the back line and helped keep Valencia quiet for long stretches. He also linked the defense to the midfield and attacked when he could.

Ramires: 5.5

This was a relatively muted effort from Ramires, who picked up a knock on his leg midway through the first half. He timed a run perfectly in the second half to earn a one-on-one with the keeper, but his shot was not good enough.

Forwards

Florent Malouda: 6.0

Malouda set up Lampard's goal with his strong dribbling to the byline and a great pass across the face of the goal. Otherwise, he showed willingness to track back to defend. When he had a chance to score in the 78th minute, his shot was too telegraphed.

Fernando Torres: 7.0

El Niño did everything but score—and that wasn't his fault. He was unlucky not to score with a powerful 51st minute header, and even more unlucky not to score with his excellent turn-and-shoot effort three minutes later. Both times, Valencia keeper Diego Alves produced outstanding saves.

Juan Mata: 6.5

Mata combined well with almost every player in the Chelsea squad. He worked hard all night, moving from side to side up top. He didn't score, but he did make a nuisance of himself to the Valencia defense constantly.

Substitutes

Raul Meireles: 6.0

Meireles came on for Ramires in the 66th minute and played well. He tracked Valencia attackers from the midfield all the way to the Chelsea box and contributed to the attack.

Nicolas Anelka: 5.0

Anelka replaced Torres in the 72nd minute and failed to have the same impact as the Spaniard. Anelka had a chance to score a late winner but his shot was saved.

Salomon Kalou: 4.0

Kalou replaced Lampard in the 83 minute. Chelsea quickly started to crack. Without Lampard's experience in the middle, Chelsea struggled to cope with Valencia's attack. The worst moment came in the 86th minute when Kalou foolishly gave away a penalty for a handball in the box.