Enzo Fernandez struggled in Chelsea’s Carabao Cup final defeat to Liverpool (Reuters)
Darren Bent claims Enzo Fernandez has ‘the worst pass appreciation’ he’s ever seen in the wake of Chelsea’s defeat to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side lost Sunday’s thrilling final at Wembley with Virgil van Dijk scoring the winner in extra time.
Fernandez, meanwhile, struggled once again at the heart of Chelsea’s midfield and was held back from confronting a goading supporter as he walked up the steps to collect his runners-up medal.
Former Tottenham, Sunderland and Aston Villa striker Bent believes Conor Gallagher was the only Chelsea midfielder who deserved praise from the Carabao Cup final defeat and believes Fernandez’s passing was even putting his teammates in trouble.
‘Whoever gave the green light for the [Mykhailo] Mudryk transfer for that amount of money deserves to be sacked. He came on and had no impact,’ Bent told talkSPORT.
‘When he came on I thought, ‘oh this might be his moment’ – a big pitch, Liverpool getting tired. His biggest attribute is his pace and he showed absolutely nothing.
Darren Bent claims Chelsea are regretting the decision to sell Jorginho (Getty)
‘I thought Conor Gallagher was alright. Okay, he missed a glaring chance and hit the post with the other, but he was the only one who came close to scoring a goal and offering a bit of energy.
‘Moises Caicedo looks nothing like the player we saw at Brighton. Enzo Fernandez for the money they paid, he’s got the worst pass appreciation that I’ve ever seen.
‘Even a five-yard pass or a 10-yard pass so your teammate can control it and do something with it… awful.’
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Bent also believes Chelsea needed Jorginho, who they sold to Arsenal for £12 million last year, to help control the midfield against Liverpool.
‘They’re not bad players because Liverpool wanted the same players,’ Bent said.
‘If you’re a Chelsea fan and you’re watching that yesterday, I know they wanted Jorginho out, but he’d have been so much better in that situation than Caicedo.
‘What Jorginho does better than anyone is control the pace of the game. Even Mateo Kovacic, they let Kovacic go to Man City – you can’t tell me that Kovacic and Jorginho aren’t better than Caicedo and Enzo.’
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