They say all that matters is the win, but last night’s performance was hardly convincing from Chelsea.
Enzo Maresca’s side had what should have been an easy draw against League One outfit Lincoln City in the League Cup, but made a meal of things.
The World Champions ended the first half a goal down and failing to register a single shot on target, only for Tyrique George and Facundo Buonanotte to save them with early goals in the second half.
It was truly a night to forget for Chelsea, and several players need to be dropped for the next match, including one who performed worse than Alejandro Garnacho and Filip Jørgensen.
Chelsea's underperformers vs Lincoln
Unfortunately, there were more than a few starters who only harmed their reputations last night, like Jørgensen.
The Danish goalkeeper was between the sticks in place of the suspended Robert Sanchez, and, if we are being honest, looked more like a League One-level keeper than his opposite number.
The former Villarreal ace was poor in distribution, completing just five of ten long balls, and utterly hopeless when balls were lifted into the area.
On another night, and against better opposition, the Blues could have been down two or three more goals due to his shakiness.
A less stressful but just as disappointing display came from summer signing Garnacho.
It was the former Manchester United ace’s first start for the club, and while he’ll have plenty of opportunities, he didn’t convince any of those who doubted his move to West London.
In his 59 minutes on the pitch, the 21-year-old took just 26 touches, made 16 passes, failed in 100% of his crosses, registered a single shot on target, didn’t even attempt a dribble, lost 100% of his aerial duels and was offside once.
In short, it was an underwhelming showing, and unfortunately for Chelsea, one of their other attackers was just as bad.
The Chelsea ace Maresca has to drop
The bad news for Chelsea is that we really could name several other players who should probably be nowhere near the starting lineup on the weekend, from Enzo Fernandes to Trevoh Chalobah.
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However, in this instance, the starter in question is another summer signing: Jamie Gittens.
It would be fair to say that the former Borussia Dortmund gem has not had the best start to his career with the Blues, as last night’s game was his fifth appearance of the season, and he has yet to score a goal or provide an assist.
However, it wasn’t just his lack of output that was a problem last night – although that early miss was poor – it was his lack of any real impact on the match.
The formerly “explosive” Reading-born winger, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, was practically anonymous for most of the time he was on the pitch, which is a real concern given the level of opposition.
It might sound overly harsh, but this opinion is one shared by Amos Murphy of the Express, who gave the Englishman a 5/10 match rating at full-time, writing that he ‘lacked quality with almost everything he did’ – talk about scathing.
Unsurprisingly, the 21-year-old’s statistics back up such appraisals, as in 70 minutes he took just 36 touches – 21 fewer than Jørgensen – completed just 25 passes, failed to play a key pass, misplaced 100% of his long balls, failed to have a shot on target, missed a big chance, lost the ball four times and only attempted one cross.
Minutes
70′
Goals
0
Assists
0
Touches
36
Passes Completed
25
Key Passes
0
Crosses
1
Long Balls (Accurate)
1 (0)
Shots on Target
0
Big Chances Missed
1
Lost Possession
4
Ultimately, Chelsea won the game, and that is what matters most, but Maresca will be concerned about the performances of his team, and if he wants a better one against Brighton, Gittens should be on the bench.