
Tiemoue
Bakayoko was sent off after just 30 minutes of Chelsea's 4-1 defeat to
Watford at Vicarage Road on
Monday Night Football as pressure
builds on Antonio Conte. Was the midfielder's brief display the worst
performance of the season so far?
Jamie Carragher was certainly not impressed with what he saw from the France
international. "It feels like they have targeted Bakayoko," he told Sky
Sports. "He has been so poor. That first 30 minutes is one of the worst
performances you will see from a player this season."
Both yellow cards Bakayoko received from referee Mike Dean were soft but
what was just as troubling for Chelsea fans who have been left underwhelmed
by the midfielder's efforts all season was that he lost the ball before
committing each of the two fouls.
"He must have lost the ball eight or nine times in that half," said
Carragher. In fact, it was 'only' seven times in the opening 30 minutes -
the most of any player on the pitch during that time - as Bakayoko struggled
to cope with Watford's pressing game.
He misplaced four simple passes during his brief outing with one of them
almost proving costly. The 23-year-old gave the ball away inside his own
half and had to rely on Cesar Azpilicueta blocking Richarlison's effort to
prevent Watford opening the scoring.
Bakayoko received his first booking moments later, falling into his opponent
after being unable to bring the ball under control under pressure. By the
time that Dean brandished the second yellow soon after, it almost appeared
as if he was putting him out of his misery.
A £40m signing from Monaco in the summer, Bakayoko has been given the
responsibility of replacing Nemanja Matic this season. But there is little
sign just yet that he is the man to fill that void. After a difficult start,
his role in Chelsea's defeat to Watford was a new low.