By Lloyd Canfield
DISASTER struck Chelsea before the game even kicked off, with Cole Palmer ruled out by a hamstring injury.
And things only got worse from there as they were outclassed by Brighton 3-0.
Here’s how the players rated…
ROBERT SANCHEZ – 5
A visit to his former club could have certainly gone better, and he was given plenty of stick from his old supporters.
Made a great save early on to deny Karou Mitoma almost a carbon copy of his goal against Spurs last week, only to concede a minute later after a wicked deflection off of Wesley Fofana.
A truly tragic pass out from the back almost had his team 2-0 down within 20 minutes, only for Trevoh Chalobah to bail him out, and his distribution all night was off the pace.
He did make several good saves in the game, particularly from Kadioglu in the second half, but was let down significantly by his distribution.
MALO GUSTO – 3
Trouble… He was well and truly in it, trying to mark Karou Mitoma.
It felt as though the Japanese winger had Gusto’s number from the very start, and the Frenchman wasn’t able to impact the game at all going forward.
TREVOH CHALOBAH – 4
Made an utterly vital block on the goal line to bail Chelsea out at 1-0 down after a diabolical pass from Sanchez straight into the path of Carlos Baleba.
A lot of the poor defending wasn’t done by him, in fairness, and he was left 2v1 for the Brighton second, but it still wasn’t a strong enough performance to justify being above average.
WESLEY FOFANA – 3
The Frenchman had to get a better connection when trying to block Kadioglu’s opener, and mistakenly turned it into his own net.
He made plenty of clearances, but was also booked in the first half before being replaced by Alejandro Garnacho.
JORREL HATO – 5
It was Hato’s header from Pascal Gross’ corner that fell into the feet of Kadioglu to hit home, which some will say is a bit of bad fortune, and others will say was weak.
Actually, despite his error, he’s one of the few Chelsea players who can take some pride in his performance, with some good progression from the back and resilience in his tackling.
MARC CUCURELLA – 2
Of all the ex-Brighton players Chelsea have signed, Marc Cucurella takes the biscuit for being the most hated by the Seagulls’ supporters.
After leaking the Blues’ team news to his BARBER about Cole Palmer’s injury, he owed the side a good performance, and didn’t pay up.
His touch was off, his passing was poor when it mattered, and defensively, he wasn’t good enough either.
ROMEO LAVIA – 4
Felt almost invisible in the Chelsea midfield, which is disappointing for a player of his quality.
Launched a shot from range over the bar in the first half, and while his passing was good at all distances, it wasn’t progressive enough.
MOISES CAICEDO – 1
Caicedo is one of the best midfielders under the sun on his day, but today was not his day, at all.
Too often, his passes didn’t work out, he was bullied by Georginio Rutter for Brighton’s second, and then criminally JOGGED back to catch Hinshelwood.
His worst game in a Chelsea shirt so far, where he hasn’t been sent off, and against the team that received a pricey £115m for his services, too.
ENZO FERNANDEZ – 2
Fernandez returned to being the captain of Chelsea tonight, but it seems that without Reece James fit, there are no role models in this team for the inexperienced players to look up to.
He couldn’t get Chelsea ticking going forward, and there seemed to be little in the way of cohesion between midfield and attack at all.
PEDRO NETO – 1
The Portuguese winger played a very strange role in this game, almost as a right wing back at times – and he didn’t do it very well.
His first touch was poor, his dribbling was often in circles rather than being direct, that was when he wasn’t falling over his own feet.
So, so weak on the wing and was relentlessly bullied by Kadioglu physically.
LIAM DELAP – 1
Really doesn’t look good enough to play for this club. In all my life, I am not sure I’ve seen a striker look this hapless.
He’s physical and strong, but the technical ability is just not there, and Joao Pedro has shown how important it is to have those things blended together.
Delap was dealt with easily by Jan Paul Van Hecke, who, to be honest, could’ve been sitting at the back with a glass of wine and a book while defending him.
His goalless streak moves up to 21 games.
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