Chelsea’s Russian international Yuri Zhirkov (pictured left) was able to play a full match with the Blues yesterday, something he had seldom had the chance to do, earning 13 rating points in the FTBL system after the 1:0 win at FC Porto.

Alas, yesterday’s game knocked Russia’s 3:0 win over Finland, in which he earned 19.95 rating points, out of Zhirkov’s Last Five. This led to his FTBL score falling to its lowest level in the past 5 months, at 60.01 points.

But this is probably just temporary, given the fact that Zhirkov’s combined plank to beat in his next 2 games is a mere 1.23 rating points. Even if the Blues lose their coming clash with Arsenal in the Premier League, Zhirkov’s fall will be only minimal. In addition, the Russian international will have a chance to improve that score in the next game against Manchester City: after all, the Blues have won the last 8 games against City.