Chelsea fans could be heard getting ‘annoyed’ at Christopher Nkunku during their FA Cup defeat to Brighton.
The Blues were dumped out of the FA Cup on Saturday evening, losing 2-1 to a Brighton team who sold them several of their players.
Chelsea took an early lead when Cole Palmer’s volleyed cross was fumbled into his own net by Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.
But the hosts were back level just seven minutes later as Georginio Rutter headed home from Joel Veltman’s cross.
Rutter played a crucial role in Brighton’s second-half winner as Kaoru Mitoma was sent through on goal and dinked a fine finish over ex-Brighton star Robert Sanchez.
Enzo Maresca fielded a strong team but was left disappointed as Chelsea’s poor run of form since mid-December continued and resulted in a FA Cup exit.
£52m signing Christopher Nkunku started in the absence of injured striker Nicolas Jackson but struggled to make an impact, even attracting groans of frustration from the travelling fans.
As the visitors were chasing a late equaliser, ex-Premier League winger Matt Jarvis said on BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘Chelsea fans were annoyed with Christopher Nkunku.
‘He was driving forward, with Tyrique George completely open on the left-hand side. He just completely stopped and turned back the other way. It is so disappointing.
‘If I am George, I am screaming at him to give me the ball. He has not had a touch after coming on.
‘It was a sensational second-half performance from Brighton. They also showed plenty of courage and determination to come back in the first half and they played their game.
‘They had to defend in numbers and they did that brilliantly. But it’s the attacking threat that they have that has impressed me.’
Brighton suffered a 7-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest last weekend and Seagulls boss Fabian Hurzeler was delighted with his team’s reaction against Chelsea.
‘Great reaction,’ he said. ‘We showed character after that start. I’m proud of how they came back. It’s not easy. That’s why it was well deserved.
‘Mistakes happen. If a keeper makes a mistake normally it’s a goal. We try to support him because he’s a great goalkeeper.
‘Georginio Rutter is doing good. He adapted quickly to the intensity of the Premier League. He has great skills and showed it today.
‘It was a togetherness on the pitch. It’s a team performance. They bounced back, they stuck together. They didn’t point fingers after losing. They took ownership.’
Chelsea emerged as surprise Premier League title contenders in the first-half of the season but have since slipped to fourth in the table and crashed out of the FA Cup.
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