At Chelsea FC, after five defeats in a row without scoring, things are also going haywire off the pitch. Defender Marc Cucurella’s hairdresser apparently revealed internal team news several hours before the lost away game at Brighton & Hove Albion (0-3) on Tuesday. This was reported by The Sun newspaper.
“Palmer and Joao Pedro are both injured. Exclusive news for you,” wrote the Spaniard’s hairdresser on X. He also posted a photo in which Cucurella can be seen cutting his hair with his wild mane. The account has now been deleted.
The information turned out to be correct: neither Cole Palmer nor Joao Pedro could play in Brighton.
“I am numb with anger”
After the defeat in the evening, the house blessing was added Chelsea then finally wrong. Team manager Liam Rosenior was beside himself. “I have often defended the players when it was appropriate, but I cannot defend this performance.” Chelsea last suffered five defeats in a row without scoring their own goal in November 1912. The Blues slipped to seventh place in the table and have to worry about taking part in European business.
“I’m numb with anger. Something urgently needs to change here. There was no trace of professionalism,” continued Rosenior. It wasn’t until the 41st minute that Chelsea fired their first shot on goal. The xG value for expected goals was 0.04 at halftime.
“Our attitude was completely wrong. It’s still very soon after the game and I’m an emotional person, but that was unacceptable, absolutely unacceptable,” said Rosenior.
Handball from Cucurella again
Marc Cucurella was also the focus during the game – and again because of a handball discussion. In the 3-0 defeat, the Blues defender received the ball on his left upper arm in the penalty area after a cross. His reaction? He tapped his chest several times, presumably to signal to the referee that he had been hit by the ball.
Brighton’s players protested violently to the referee and gestured for a hand penalty – but it didn’t happen. The video referee didn’t get involved either. German fans had memories of the quarter-finals of the home European Championship almost two years ago.
At that time, Cucurella clearly stopped a shot by Jamal Musiala with his arm in extra time when the score was 1-1 in the penalty area, but the English referee Graham Taylor allowed the game to continue. Spain ended up winning 2-1 and the German team was eliminated. The European Football Union UEFA subsequently admitted that the referee had made a mistake. “Now they come and say it was a penalty,” Cucurella later told the “Gazzetta dello Sport” in an interview: “What’s the point of that? The real problem is that there is a lot of confusion about the rules.”
