Chelsea were shocked on Saturday afternoon as they let a two-goal lead slip and were forced to share the points with Sheffield United at Stamford Bridge.
It ends 2-2 at the Bridge. #CHESHU pic.twitter.com/5wTLiCZsOx
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 31, 2019
The Blues made an excellent start to the game when Tammy Abraham netted the opener just inside the first 20 minutes (Sky Sports).
The 21-year-old completed his brace just before the half-time interval, however that was about as good as it got for Frank Lampard’s Chelsea side on the afternoon.
Callum Robinson got Sheffield United back into the game when he struck shortly after the restart before Kurt Zouma got the unfortunate touch on a whipped in cross to put the ball into the back of his own net.
Fans will have been disappointed to have picked up a point against one of the Premier League’s newest sides this season and it appears many of them pinpointed Ross Barkley as an individual to vent their frustrations at him.
Fansite The Pride of London gave the England international midfielder a six in their player ratings after stating that he had a rather forgettable match before being substituted for Willian on the hour. They wrote: “Getting the nod ahead of Willian to start the game, Barkley misplaced passes, lost possession of the ball, took a free kick that failed to clear the wall and held on to the ball for longer than necessary at times. The only key moment from him was his back-heel pass to Christian Pulisic that started the attack for the first goal. Other than that, Barkley had a forgetful game and was rightly subbed off at the hour mark.”
Indeed, supporters felt the 25-year-old had a poor showing as well and let their feelings known on Twitter following the conclusion of the match.
Here are just some of their reactions…
Barkley is done guys.
— (@currentiyke) August 31, 2019
Lampard needs to ban Barkley from the team
— El Capitan Futuro II (@Jibsman1) August 31, 2019
Full time thoughts:
– Tammy excellent once again
– Shocking defending in the second half, Rudiger missed big time
– Dave’s 1v1 defending was so poor
– Pulisic looked tired after an hour, became ineffective
– Kova quality on the ball
– Barkley just not good enough#CFC #CHESHU— CFC-Blues (@CFCBlues_com) August 31, 2019
Ross Barkley is the 1 player who frustrates me at Chelsea more than any other. I’ve praised him on here & I’ve been constructively critical as well. I want him to succeed at Chelsea I really do but he’s not taking his opportunities. Very poor at times yesterday. Needs to do more. pic.twitter.com/BFC4aNRJSk
— Chris Wright (@chriswrightzz) September 1, 2019
We really have to wait till next pre season to see another good performance from Ross Barkley in a Chelsea kit. He’s incredibly awful man…
— Mod (@CFCMod_) August 31, 2019
Barkley can be very frustrating. Fact.
— Alex Goldberg (@AlexGoldberg_) August 31, 2019
Here’s some simple facts..
1). Chelsea won’t finish top four
2). Azpi is finished
3). Zouma simply not good enough
4). Barkley useless unless it’s pre season
5). Tomori is underrated
6). Chelsea could end up mid tableThis season is going to be a painful one..
— Con (@ConnCFC) August 31, 2019
