Olaleye Idowu
Former Arsenal star Paul Merson has slammed Chelsea following their shock 2-1 defeat to Sunderland in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Englishman singled out one player for criticism after the Blues fell 2-1 in front of their own fans at Stamford Bridge.
Alejandro Garnacho opened the scoring for Chelsea after just four minutes, but the visitors fought back through goals from Wilson Isidor and Chemsidine Talbi to take all three points.
Arsenal legend and lifelong Chelsea fan Merson criticised the whole team and hit out at young striker Marc Guiu, saying the former Barcelona player needs to be replaced immediately.
Guiu is currently filling in for Liam Delap, who is recovering from a long-term injury.
“Well impressed with Sunderland today, I wasn’t with Chelsea,” Merson told Sky Sports.
“I thought they’d struggle. They need Delap back badly; they need a focal point.
“Guiu played up front, and I think he touched the ball nine or ten times. You can’t do that in a team that’s supposed to be dominating the ball.
“Chelsea ran out of ideas. They had winger after winger, but half of them don’t go past anyone. Joao Pedro looked lost as a number ten. They struggled and were pretty poor.”
Due to his impressive performances in Chelsea’s last two games, Enzo Maresca handed Guiu his first Premier League start against Sunderland, a club he was loaned to at the start of the season.
The latest defeat means Chelsea have dropped to eighth in the table and are five points behind leaders Arsenal.
