Liam Delap faced criticism for his performance during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Despite Chelsea’s commanding 3-0 victory at Stamford Bridge, the English forward had a disappointing outing on the night.
Second-half goals from Malo Gusto, João Pedro, and Pedro Neto secured Chelsea their fourth win in their last five Premier League games, propelling them to second place in the standings, at least temporarily.
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca named Delap in his starting XI for the first time since the forward injured his hamstring against Fulham in August. However, the 22-year-old looked off the pace, struggling with the physicality of the Wolves defenders throughout the match.
In the 64 minutes that Delap spent on the pitch, he had just 15 touches, lost possession three times, and received a match rating of 6.5 according to SofaScore.
While many Chelsea fans were pleased with the team’s win, others took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their disappointment with Delap’s display.
One fan wrote:
“Box presence is non existent. Really should’ve gone for Osimhen instead of Delap.” (@EmenaIo)
Another tweet read:
“Delap when asked to actually play football is hilarious. Wasted £30m on a WWE superstar. Thanks to these brainless sporting directors again.” (@CFC_Ali10)
A third user commented:
“Signing this Delap was a complete mistake. I have said it before they signed him, I am saying it again now.” (@Tekanomo_)
Others were even more critical:
“Liam Delap is absolutely atrocious. How on earth he made it as a professional footballer is beyond me. Should have been a WWE superstar. Constantly wrestling defenders,” shared one fan (@utdHarryy).
Another remarked simply:
“Delap can’t even control a ball.” (@CFCDray)
There was also this sarcastic observation:
“Only this first half Liam Delap don fall for ground at least seventy nine million four hundred & sixty five thousand seven hundred & four three times.” (@iamdikeh)
Some fans questioned whether Delap fits Chelsea’s profile:
“Even if it is still early days, Liam Delap is not a Chelsea type of player.” (@the_Lawrenz)
One supporter criticized the forward trio on the pitch, saying:
“Garnacho, Delap, Neto. Surely this is the worst front 3 this sport has ever seen.” (@idk_you999)
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**Enzo Maresca praises Chelsea’s performance**
Despite the criticism aimed at Delap, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca was pleased with his team’s overall performance in the convincing 3-0 win over Wolves.
“We played well,” Maresca told Sky Sports. “I think the only difference between the first half and second half is that in the second half we scored the goals that we didn’t in the first half.”
Chelsea will next face Burnley after the upcoming international break.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/football/news-can-t-even-control-ball-fans-slam-chelsea-star-despite-3-0-win-wolves