Chelsea’s dismal 3-0 defeat at Brighton leaves Champions League hopes in tatters and increases scrutiny on manager Liam Rosenior.
CHELSEA’S season descended further into crisis with a dismal 3-0 defeat at Brighton on Tuesday.
The loss piles immense pressure on manager Liam Rosenior and shatters the club’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.
Ferdi Kadioglu put Brighton ahead in the third minute before second-half goals from Jack Hinshelwood and Danny Welbeck sealed a comprehensive victory. Chelsea produced one of their worst performances of a miserable campaign, failing to register a shot for the opening 30 minutes.
It is the first time Chelsea have lost five consecutive league games without scoring since 1912. The Blues have now been beaten seven times in their last eight matches across all competitions.
Chelsea languish in seventh place, seven points behind fifth-placed Liverpool. They are in danger of missing out on European football altogether unless they can halt their wretched run.
Rosenior’s team face Leeds in the FA Cup semi-finals on Sunday. A defeat at Wembley could push the manager to the brink of the sack just months after his arrival in January.
Rosenior this week claimed Chelsea’s owners have been “magnificent” in their backing of him. Co-owner Behdad Eghbali has said the club remain optimistic about long-term success under Rosenior.
The atmosphere around Chelsea is turning increasingly toxic, however. Boos greeted the full-time whistle and travelling fans at the Amex Stadium chanted “we want our Chelsea back”.
Brighton took full advantage of Chelsea’s disarray from the outset. Kaoru Mitoma forced a good save from Robert Sanchez early on before Kadioglu lashed home from a Pascal Gross corner.
Gross tormented Chelsea with his deliveries throughout the first half. Sanchez then almost gifted Brighton a goal with a miscued pass, but Trevoh Chalobah cleared Hinshelwood’s subsequent shot off the line.
Chelsea finally managed a shot five minutes before half-time, but Chalobah’s effort was derided by furious fans. Rosenior was targeted for abuse from the travelling supporters after the interval.
Brighton’s second goal came from a blistering counter-attack in the 56th minute. Georginio Rutter sprinted away before picking out Hinshelwood for a composed finish.
Chelsea had no response and Welbeck delivered the final blow in stoppage time. Maxim De Cuyper cut the ball back for the substitute, who fired into the roof of the net as Rosenior shook his head in disbelief.
