Chelsea crashed out of the FA Cup fourth round after a 2-1 away defeat at the hands of Premier League rivals Brighton & Hove Albion. Enzo Maresca’s side put in a lacklustre performance to end their hopes of a domestic trophy.
The Blues are still in the hunt for the Conference League, but a domestic trophy is now effectively off the table.
It was Chelsea who took the lead on the south coast, with the visitors scoring five minutes into the game thanks to an own goal from Bart Verbruggen, as the Brighton goalkeeper spilt Cole Palmer’s cross into the back of the net under no pressure.
However, the Dutchman’s blushes were spared just seven minutes later. Seagulls attacker Georginio Rutter found himself unmarked in the Chelsea box and rose highest to meet a cross from Joel Veltman, which he headed home.
Brighton’s winner came through a deft touch from the boot of Kaoru Mitoma. Rutter was involved again, getting on the end of a loose ball and clipping the pass through to the Japan star. He brought it down well on his chest before lifting it over former Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
It was a poor night at the office for the Blues, with disappointing performances throughout. However, Christopher Nkunku was someone who played particularly poorly.
Nkunku’s stats v Brighton
The Frenchman has not had an easy time of things during his Stamford Bridge career so far. Competing against the likes of Palmer and Nicolas Jackson for a spot in the team has not been straightforward, and Saturday night’s clash was a chance to make an impact from the start.
However, the former Paris Saint-Germain academy star did not impress at centre-forward. Chelsea social media presence Felix Johnston pointed out that the Frenchman was the “deepest player in build-up” for the Blues. That is certainly an issue for Maresca’s side given they played without a focal point at times.
This was also something noticed by Football.london journalist Bobby Vincent. In his post-match ratings, he gave Nkunku a 4/10 for his night’s work, also noting that the Frenchman “drops too deep” at times.
It was certainly a missed opportunity for Nkunku, who might well be disappointed he did not manage to have a great impact on the game. However, even though he performed badly, there was perhaps a Chelsea player who was even worse. That man was Malo Gusto.
Gusto’s stats v Brighton
Just as his fellow Frenchman struggled on the south coast, it was a tough night for right-back Gusto. Chelsea podcaster Pys said he was “one of our best players last season”, but the 21-year-old put in a disappointing performance on Saturday night.
Defensively, coming directly up against Mitoma, the defender looked all at sea, and could not really keep the electric winger quiet. He left him in acres of space for his goal, which meant Mitoma had time to bring the pass down before his goal.
Gusto’s stats on Sofascore show just how tough of a night it was for him. The Frenchman lost the ball an outrageous 21 times, and won just 2 duels from 12 attempted. He also failed to complete any of the three dribbles he attempted.
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Gusto stats v Brighton |
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|---|---|
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Stat |
Total |
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Touches |
82 |
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Pass accuracy |
86% |
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Passes completed |
49/57 |
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Possession lost |
21 |
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Ground duels won |
1/10 |
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Aerial duels won |
1/2 |
|
Dribbles completed |
0/3 |
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Stats from Sofascore |
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Vincent was just as critical of Gusto as he was of Nkunku, and also gave the Chelsea right-back a 4/10 for his display at the Amex Stadium. He explained that the Frenchman has been “below-par for most of the campaign”. That view was backed up by another Blues content creator on Twitter who was perhaps a little harsher, noting that the full-back has been “shocking this season.”
Gusto and his side will be hoping to put this disappointment behind them and bounce back quickly. Next up for Chelsea is another trip to Brighton, this time in the Premier League.
