Chelsea barely survived their FA Cup Fifth Round battle against Wrexham, needing extra time to prevail 4-2. Here are three key players who nearly doomed the Blues to an upset defeat.
AM Pedro Neto
Rubbish, utterly rubbish. Chelsea cannot sell Pedro Neto soon enough, and the man makes it all worse by suffering from main character syndrome, which was on full display against Wrexham with key players like Cole Palmer inexplicably not even options to come in and save the day.
Chelsea did not end up needing saving by the Icy One, though it is telling that the Blues ultimately prevailed when Neto left the pitch. Everything Alejandro Garnacho is accused of can be applied to Neto with none of the upside.
CM Romeo Lavia
Romeo Lavia is Mr. Theoretical. Theoretically, he is one of the most talented center midfielders in the Premier League. In some theoretical universe, he would never have injury issues, his development would have gone swimmingly, and he’d be a star for Chelsea.
The reality is much, much bleaker. Lavia is a mediocre, unsure of himself center midfielder who cannot even cut it against a Championship side. He does nothing particularly well, and his utter lack of creativity disqualifies him from starting for Chelsea.
ST Liam Delap
An example of poor recruitment, Liam Delap belongs at a club ranking 18th in the Premier League and not a club like Chelsea that should have title aspirations. Delap was bullied off the pitch by Wrexham, and any Chelsea fan who thinks this was a remotely acceptable display by a starting striker at the club both need to have their heads checked and is a symptom of the wider problem of the Blues lowering their standards to accommodate players like this one.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.