"Too lazy as a player", "Can't even make a decent pass" - Chelsea fans unhappy with star's performance in 1-1 Palace draw
Chelsea slumped to a disappointing 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Sunday. Fans took to social media to express their disgruntlement with Enzo Fernandez's performance.
The Argentine, reportedly signed on a mammoth £106.8 million transfer from Benfica in January 2023, misplaced 14 passes in the game and lost possession a staggering 19 times.
Operating at the base of midfield alongside Moises Caicedo, Fernandez came a cropper defensively too, failing to muster a single clearance or interception or even a block.
His performance was thoroughly dissected by Chelsea's unhappy fans, who ripped into Fernandez with sharp criticisms on X.
One user by the name Akayu Jonah called him a 'lazy' player:
Another X user wrote:
Fernandez also received scathing review of his performance from this user:
"Enzo F is a huge problem. He can't defend, and neither can he make intelligent progressive passes," wrote Jolayemi olayinka on X.
Another fan wrote:
One more X user merely wrote:
"Can we talk about that Enzo performance..." wrote Justeon on X.
X user ELVIS echoed the above sentiments, as he wrote:
"You guys can big up Enzo's good traits and that's fair. But that brother is a net negative to our midfield."
Chelsea had gone in front through Nicolas Jackson, who latched onto a superb floating cross from Cole Palmer to make it 1-0 after 25 minutes into the kick-off. Palace fought back after the break as Eberechi Eze picked up the ball on the edge of the box and curled home a brilliant strike for 1-1.
The Blues are away to Bournemouth after the international break while winless Palace host promoted side Leicester City.
Chelsea still not up to scratch
Chelsea's troubling run in the Premier League continued with yet more disappointing result. In three league games of the new season thus far, they've won just once, an enthralling 6-2 drubbing of Wolves away from home last weekend.
That victory was touted as the resurgence of a side that's been teetering closer to mid-table than the top in recent times, but today's performance once again revealed the chinks in their armor.
It also showed the scale of rebuilding that head coach Enzo Maresca faces at the club, as Chelsea are yet to find their best. With just four points in three games, the Blues are down in 11th position.