After a week of nothing but positives, the mood among Chelsea fans has taken a dramatic turn after losing 3-1 to Leeds, and Enzo Maresca is getting much of the heat.
Chelsea fell into old habits on Wednesday night, dropping the ball against Leeds after such strong displays against Barcelona and Arsenal.
The first half was dominated by the home side, so much so that Maresca was frantically giving tactics to Chelsea players early in the second half.
His words had little impact, as Chelsea were equally disappointing after the break. And a catastrophe at the back has left fans fuming with one decision he made before kick-off.
Who was Chelsea’s best player vs Leeds?
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Chelsea fans heated after Maresca’s decision to start Tosin Adarabioyo
Tosin Adarabioyo cost Chelsea any chance at getting back into the game when he lost possession in his own penalty box to gift Dominic Calvert-Lewin a tap-in.
Many fans think starting Tosin was a huge mistake. Chelsea’s worst performances seem to always come with him at the back.
They let Maresca know how they felt en masse.
One fan says: “Can’t have sympathy for Maresca. Tosin was a visible liability.”
That was one of the more reserved ways of making that point. Another fan is less diplomatic: “Get rid of Tosin once this match ends. Cannot believe Maresca decided to start him knowing his track record. Incompetence.”
“Tosin a complete liability . Why Maresca persists with this dreadful defender ahead of Acheampong is beyond me.”
Of the last three games Tosin has started, two — against Qarabag and Wolves — were poor defensive displays from the Blues, and fans have had enough.
Tosin Adarabioyo for Chelsea vs Leeds
Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP via Getty Images
As this fan puts it: “Tosin’s contract should be terminated in January. He’s useless to the club.”
“Tosin has no business starting for us again this year, offload him in January. I really don’t care anymore.”
That is a popular message, relayed again by this fan: “Tosin should be out in January please, it’s enough. We shouldn’t be losing games like this.”
The error was as bad as we’ve seen from the 28-year-old, who just can’t seem to find consistency at Stamford Bridge.
But has he become the scapegoat?
Who deserves most of the blame for Chelsea’s loss to Leeds?
Plenty of disappointing displays 😬
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Chelsea were awful, not just Tosin
As much as he deserves to be called out for what was an amateur mistake, we need to be careful about attributing 100% of the blame there. As a whole, Chelsea were terrible against Leeds.
Daniel Farke claimed Chelsea are title challengers, but he warned that his side would be approaching this game with intent.
And they did.
Tosin will get most of the heat in the aftermath, but none of the eleven players who stepped out onto the pitch can be proud of how they played.
Back to the drawing board, it seems.