Chelsea player who lost possession eight times was even worse than Jorrel Hato vs Qarabag
Chelsea and Qarabag were involved in a thrilling Champions League tie on Wednesday (November 5), and several players struggled for the visitors.
The Blues made a perfect start to the game when Estevao fired them in front early on, but their joy was short-lived.
Chelsea fans slammed Jorrel Hato on his second Champions League start for the club, after he was bullied by Camilo Duran for Qarabag’s first goal before conceding a penalty for a handball.
Hato’s disastrous first-half display luckily didn’t carry into the second half as Alejandro Garnacho scored straight after coming off the bench with a cultured left-footed finish.
Tosin Adarabioyo was shocking for Chelsea against Qarabag
Following Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Tottenham, Enzo Maresca decided to heavily rotate his side, and that included a start for Tosin Adarabioyo.
The 28-year-old came into the starting lineup after the Italian rested Wesley Fofana and Trevoh Chalobah.
But in an attempt to earn more starts for the Blues, the Englishman did himself no favours with a shaky performance alongside Hato.
Tosin looked clumsy in possession, giving away the ball easily, and was caught out on multiple occasions in transition.
| Tosin Adarabioyo’s stats vs Qarabag |
| 90 minutes played |
| 3 clearances |
| 6 recoveries |
| 8x possession lost |
| 3/4 ground duels won |
| 2/4 aerial duels won |
As an experienced professional with over a century of Premier League appearances, supporters would have expected him to take charge and marshal the defence.
Unfortunately, Tosin – who was also slammed against Bayern Munich in September – struggled to assert himself and truly mentor the inexperienced Hato.
Enzo Maresca takes risks by making big changes
Maresca has a big squad to select from, and although Tosin benefited from his tendency to rotate, it has taken a toll on their consistency.
As pointed out by BBC Sport journalist Nizaar Kinsella, no Premier League team has made more changes than Chelsea this season and that has made their life more difficult.
“No Premier League team has made more changes than Chelsea this season. In the last five games, Chelsea have made at least seven and up to 11 changes in each match,” Kinsella said.
“It feels like Enzo Maresca is always risking this kind of performance when he makes so many changes every match.
“Equally, you can say the Italian is showing great trust in his squad, giving chances and Chelsea may benefit in the long run.
“Yet the trade-off is inconsistency with this very young line-up out there today in a match that was always going to be difficult – given Qarabag have delivered a few upsets in the Champions League already.”
That is perhaps why Tosin struggled against Qarabag, as he’s only made three starts for the club since September 20.