‘What on earth is Liam Delap doing?’ – Alan Shearer baffled by Chelsea striker incident vs Hull
Chelsea easily progressed into the fifth round of the FA Cup on Friday with a simple 4-0 win over Hull City.
While many of the Blues’ players were superb against the Championship outfit, Liam Delap was at the centre of a bizarre incident.
Upon closing down the Hull City goalkeeper, Dillon Phillips smashed the ball off the striker, with it proceeding to deflect off the bar before landing in the six-yard box.
While Delap managed to get to the ball first, the 23-year-old delayed his shot, despite the keeper being out of position, which allowed Phillips to get back into the net before proceeding to save his eventual effort.
As a result, Alan Shearer was quick to react to the baffling incident, with the youngster missing a great opportunity to score.
Alan Shearer: What is Liam Delap doing?
Delap has no doubt struggled since his summer move to the Blues from Ipswich Town.
The striker has only found the net three times to date, with injury issues plaguing the 23-year-old’s campaign to date.
As a result, when the opportunity presented itself for him to score an easy goal, his decision-making baffled many.
“What on earth is Liam Delap doing?!” 😳
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) February 13, 2026
Alan Shearer was not impressed with the striker here! pic.twitter.com/WKHJ4KDMwo
Commentating on the match, Alan Shearer said on 14 February: “What on earth is Liam Delap doing?!
“He even has a look around him and I’m thinking ‘go on, get on the end of it, show some urgency’.
“Then, he is having a look around again to put his arms in the air, and I’m just thinking, put it in the net!”
What did Delap say about his miss?
For Delap, the miss will certainly be a tad embarrassing. While it mattered little in the end, it was a shocker, and certainly a chance of a striker of his quality should be scoring.
While the attacker did make up for the miss with three assists later in the game, the fluffed opportunity has remained one of the major talking points after the match.
When asked about the incident in his post-match interview, Delap was the first to admit that his decision-making was poor.
Daily Mail reporter, Kieran Gill, via X on 13 February, confirmed that he said: “I swear, I almost ran off, I thought it was in.
“I was just stupid. I should have put it in. These things happen. I’ll learn from it for next time.”
Liam Delap is asked on his earlier miss in his TV interview: “I swear, I almost ran off, I thought it was in. I was just stupid. I should have put it in. These things happen. I’ll learn from it for next time.”
— Kieran Gill (@kierangill_DM) February 13, 2026
Now, Chelsea will eagerly await who they will face in the fifth round of the FA Cup, with the draw set to take place on Monday, before Macclesfield’s tie against Brentford.
Liam Rosenior will be keen to win the cup and start his career off at Stamford Bridge with a trophy, proving to any doubters that he is the man for the job.