Jadon Sancho and Moises Caicedo destroyed at Chelsea: ‘That’s what winds fans up’
Chelsea stars Jadon Sancho and Moises Caicedo’s lack of effort against Brighton “sums up every fan’s frustration”, according to Paul Merson.
The Blues were handily beaten by a resurgent Seagull’s side 3-0 on Friday night (14 February).
Goals from Yankuba Minteh, and a world-class strike from Kaoru Mitoma gave Brighton all three points.
It is the second time in the space a week that the Seagulls have beaten the West London side, having won 2-1 in the FA Cup on 8 February.
Chelsea have made a decision on manager Enzo Maresca’s future, as the club continue to struggle for form.
Despite having started the season as title-contenders, the Blues are now in danger of missing out on Champions League football.
Speaking on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday, former Arsenal star, Merson, voiced his concern with the lack of effort shown by some Chelsea stars as they went 3-0 down, saying: “That last goal sums up every fan’s frustration behind the goal.
“Every fan wants to be a footballer and the one thing they will do if they had the chance is be able to run around and work hard.
“That last goal is atrocious, it’s just one-two and played off him [Sancho], and they just stand there and go ‘oh’. That’s what winds fans up.
“When they travel to away games and they use all their hard-earned money and people can’t be [bothered] to chase people back, that’s when fans get the hump.”
Jadon Sancho an easy target as Chelsea struggle to maintain early season form
Football Insider Verdict
Sancho was criticised for his performances by Chelsea fans this season, and the winger has been out of sorts for the Blues.
Sancho was hammered for a comment he left on Marcus Rashford’s Instagram, following his former teammate’s departure from Man United.
Having joined the Blues on loan from United in the summer, the winger has asserted himself as Maresca’s first choice at left-wing, and looked to be putting a difficult time in Manchester behind him.
However, as Chelsea’s form has dipped, the winger has found it difficult to have the same impact that he was having intially.
Sancho has been a conundrum for managers throughout his career, he does not have the conventional pace that wingers often rely on. Instead, the former Borussia Dortmund winger relies on his world-class technical ability, and tends to thrive when surrounded by dynamic players.
This often makes him an easy target for fans and pundits, as his natural nonchalance on the ball – which is a joy to watch when things are going right – can often be misconstrued for laziness when the team is struggling.
Sancho is not a natural defender, but Merson still slammed him for failing to pick up the run of Minteh, something that some of the best defender’s in the Premier League have struggled with this season.
Chelsea defence needs fixing to save Enzo Maresca’s job
Levi Colwill was slammed by Chelsea fans after the loss against Brighton, as Chelsea again failed to keep a clean sheet, with their last coming in a 0-0 draw with Everton on 22 December.
The Blues also began the game with Filip Jorgensen in goal, following some dismal performances from Robert Sanchez, but the Denmark U21 international was unable to have a positive impact.
If Maresca stands any chance of surviving this difficult period, he will have to find a solution to his team’s defensive woes.