"Probably the worst centre-half performance I’ve seen in the PL in the last two seasons" - Pundit slams Chelsea star's performance against Liverpool
Former England attacker Gabriel Agbonlahor has slammed Chelsea defender Benoit Badiashile following the Blues' 4-1 defeat against Liverpool on Wednesday, January 31.
Diogo Jota, Conor Bradley, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Luis Diaz scored for the Merseysiders, while Christopher Nkunku found the back of the net for the Blues.
Following the game, former Aston Villa forward Gabriel Agbonlahor slammed the Chelsea defense, singling out Benoit Badiashile. The former England international claimed that Liverpool could have easily secured a much bigger win had Darwin Nunez not hit the woodwork multiple times.
Agbonlahor claimed that Badiashile's performance against Jurgen Klopp's side was probably the worst by any centre-back in the last two Premier League seasons. The pundit also criticized Ben Chilwell and Thiago Silva for their sloppy defending.
Agbonlahor also hit out at the Chelsea management for spending so poorly that 39-year-old Thiago Silva is still a starter for them. He said on The Sports Breakfast, as quoted by Goal:
“Chelsea look like they don’t care if they lose. That’s what I got from last night, they were that bad. They didn’t look like they cared about losing. Darwin Nunez hit the bar, the post, the woodwork five times – it could have been like 8-1 or 8-2. Badiashile, the centre half, he gave probably the worst centre-half performance I’ve seen in the Premier League in the last two seasons."
Agbonlahor added:
"He was dreadful, Chilwell wasn’t great and then you’ve got Mudryk coming on – he hasn’t learned anything. He’s running into people, kicking it out of play and doesn’t look like he’s got any football intelligence. Thiago Silva was poor. You spend a billion pounds on players and you’ve got a 39-year-old – nearly 40-year-old – playing centre-back."
Badiashile has struggled to impress in Chelsea colors following his reported £32.7 million move from AS Monaco in January 2023. The Frenchman has made just 21 appearances for the Blues so far and has been quite shaky defensively.
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino makes honest admission following 4-1 Liverpool defeat
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that his side was absolutely outclassed by Liverpool on Wednesday, January 31. Jurgen Klopp's side demolished the Blues 4-1 at Anfield and the scoreline could have easily been much more emphatic.
In his post-match press conference, Pochettino admitted that his side was second-best, with Liverpool dominating the game. He said, via Goal:
“They were more aggressive than us. For us it was difficult to connect and play. It was difficult to recover the ball at the first or the second touch. We lose the ball so easily. They won all the duels. [They] compete better, in all of the areas they were better than us."
The Blues find themselves 10th in the table following their defeat against Liverpool and are 12 points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.