Chelsea fans will be infuriated after last night's defeat to Brighton in the fourth round of the FA Cup. The Blues had already met the Seagulls this season, winning that encounter 4-2.
This game started well for Chelsea, taking the lead through a puzzling error by Brighton's goalkeeper, Bart Verbruggen. That was the highlight for Enzo Maresca's men, though, as they went downhill from there. Here is how The Pride of London rates the away side after that toothless display:
Goalkeeper and Defense
Robert Sánchez: 4/10
Sánchez could have done better for both goals. His positioning was poor for the first, and he could have swept up the ball for the second goal if he had started his run earlier. However, the Spaniard was not directly responsible for any of the goals Chelsea allowed. His distribution was, as usual, poor.
Malo Gusto: 2/10
Brighton was well-prepared for any threat that could’ve come from the fullbacks, and Gusto was rendered embarrassingly ineffective. He struggled on and off the ball, winning just 1/10 ground duels and failing to complete a single dribble. According to FotMob, he actually lost the most duels in the match.
Tosin Adarabioyo: 4/10
Tosin positioned himself well to make several clearances, but he wasn’t great otherwise. His distribution was good, though he made a poor clearance leading up to Brighton's winning goal. This was a far cry from his play in January that saw him named the PoL player of the month.
Trevoh Chalobah: 4.5/10
Chalobah’s long passing was poor, though he won all the duels he contested—albeit there were not many of them. Brighton just seemed to have too much for Chelsea’s back line.
Marc Cucurella: 5/10
Cucurella was one of the few players who wasn't dreadful, though he couldn’t neutralize Brighton’s right-wing threat. Perhaps he is playing too many matches and needs some time off. If only Chelsea had held on to Ben Chilwell to spell him at times.