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Chelsea ratings: Pantomime villain Cucurella can hold head high but Nkunku has a stinker in FA Cup loss to Brighton
Chelsea suffered a heartbreaking FA Cup elimination to Brighton
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BRIGHTON came from behind to dump Chelsea out of the FA Cup with Kaoru Mitoma’s perfectly placed chip securing a 2-1 win for the Seagulls at the Amex stadium.
A fiery opening to the game saw two goals in the opening 12 minutes. Bart Verbruggen inexplicably misjudged Cole Palmer’s cross and turned the ball into his own net to hand Chelsea a 1-0 lead five minutes in.
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Brighton, however, bounced back fast thanks to a perfectly placed Georginio Rutter header.
It was a fiery rest of the first half, without either side really creating many chances. Both sides were flying into the challenges however, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Joel Veltman both picking up yellow cards for hefty tackles.
It didn’t take long for Brighton to go in front in the second half. The Seagulls escaped a possible handball shout before Kaoru Mitoma chipped ex-Brighton keeper Robert Sanchez to put the home side ahead in the 57th minute.
Chelsea never looked like forcing a way back into the game after going behind, with the lack of a goal scoring striker up top really hurting Enzo Maresca’s side.
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But how did Chelsea's players fare? Who was the biggest let down and who was the best of the worst? Check out SunSport's player ratings below for more:
Robert Sanchez - 5
Back in the side after being dropped by Enzo Maresca after a number of errors this season. The Spaniard looked shaky on the ball at the start of the game but seemed to brush off his nerves as the match developed.
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Nothing he could do about Brighton's opener with Georginio Rutter’s perfectly-placed header flying past him.
Perhaps a little slow off his line for the Seaulls' winner, but take nothing away from Kaoru Mitoma’s perfectly-executed chip.
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Malo Gusto - 5
Worked tirelessly charging up and down the right flank for Chelsea, but failed to have much joy going forward or defensively.
Struggled to deal with the dangerous Kaoru Mitoma throughout the game, and was caught napping out of position for the Japanese forward's winner.
Tosin Adarabioyo - 5
Alongside Trevoh Chalobah, was guilty of allowing Georginio Rutter to drift into space to fire home Brighton’s early equaliser.
Played some confident passes at times, but also looked like a walking mistake on the ball at times. Was caught in possession on the halfway line by Georginio Rutter which almost led to a Brighton goal.
Trevoh Chalobah - 6
Equally as responsible for Brighton’s opening goal alongside his centre-back partner, allowing Rutter a free header in the box.
Was more composed on the ball than Tosin Adarabioyo throughout the game, however, and already looks like Chelsea’s best centre-back after being recalled from loan.
Marc Cucurella - 6
The pantomime villain of the evening at the Amex Stadium, with Brighton fans spending the full 90 minutes booing their ex-player everytime he got a hold of the ball.
Was solid throughout the game, although failed to have the attacking impact that he has had for Chelsea in recent games.
Moises Caicedo - 6
Looked to be running a one-man midfield before Enzo Fernandez was introduced in the second half.
Worked tirelessly but was clearly frustrated with his side's efforts, putting in a couple of nasty tackles which led to him being booked.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall - 4
A rare start for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall at Chelsea this season, and in truth, he failed to take advantage.
A very poor challenge early on saw the midfielder booked, and he failed to have any impact on his side going forward or defensively in the first half.
Was substituted 15 minutes into the second half for Enzo Fernandez in the wake of Brighton’s second goal.
Pedro Neto - 5
An injury concern midway through the first half, which in truth he never quite looked to shake off.
Looked confident and had the better of Tariq Lamptey, often beating his full-back. His final ball, however, was sorely lacking throughout the match, with a number of crosses flying over everyone
Cole Palmer - 6
Played his part in Chelsea’s opener with a first-time cross into the box - although it’s difficult to mark that goal down as anything other than a Bart Verbruggen howler.
Looked like he was missing his regular attacking partner Nicolas Jackson, with a clear lack of connection with Christopher Nkunku up top.
Jadon Sancho - 5
Looked uninterested for large parts of the first half, and failed to close down Joel Veltman, who whipped in the cross for Brighton’s opener.
He picked up in the second half with some direct dribbling, although never managed to find the final ball.
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Christopher Nkunku - 2
It’s hard not to feel sorry for Christopher Nkunku, with the forward looking completely lost in Enzo Maresca’s system.
It genuinely seemed like he wasn’t on the pitch at times, with the Frenchman missing in action for large parts of the game.
The one clear chance he had running through on goal, he bizarrely elected to cross the ball rather than have an effort himself.
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Enzo Fernandez (Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, 59) - 7
Brought an air of control to Chelsea’s midfield which was sorely lacking before. Played a few nice passes with the short time he had on the pitch.
Nothing came of his efforts, although perhaps the result would have been different for Chelsea had he started the game.
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Tyrique George (Jadon Sancho, 73) - 5
Spurned a great opportunity over the bar, and other than that failed to have any impact.
Noni Madueke (Pedro Neto, 73) - 6
Barely saw any of the ball after he was introduced.
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