Last night was undoubtedly an evening to forget for Chelsea, as they fell to a 4-1 defeat to Scottish Premiership side Celtic during their pre-season tour of the US.
Enzo Maresca’s side were outclassed by Brendan Rodgers' side, looking well off the pace and disorganised at the back, with the Hoops able to cut through the backline on countless occasions.
Christopher Nkunku managed to get on the scoresheet late on from the penalty spot, but the damage was already inflicted by the time he found the back of the net.
The performance will be a cause for concern for the Italian, with his side looking nowhere near ready for the start of the Premier League, which commences in just under three weeks.
However, it would have allowed Maresca to further analyse his squad, with one player producing a dismal display, which could result in him losing his starting place at Stamford Bridge.
Benoit Badiashile’s stats against Celtic
After joining the club for £35m back in January 2023, there was real excitement around the signing of French centre-back Benoit Badiashile, but it’s safe to say the deal hasn’t worked out for either party.
He’s only made 33 appearances in all competitions for the Blues, but last night was arguably his worst of the lot, with the 23-year-old looking way off the pace in the defeat.
Badiashile was one of just two Chelsea players to feature for the entirety of the friendly, but could’ve easily been taken off at any stage, such as the lack of impact during his performance.
Minutes played
90
Possession lost
9x
Errors leading to goal
1
Touches
86
Aerials won
1/2 (50%)
Interceptions
1
Badiashile lost possession nine times during the defeat, gifting possession to Luis Palma who had the easiest of finishes to score Celtic’s third goal of the game.
The Frenchman only managed to win one aerial battle and make one interception, looking shaky at the back – resulting in a 3/10 match rating from journalist Joe Krishnan.
It was an outing to forget for the 23-year-old, but it could be one that could damage his chances of securing a starting role under Maresca at Stamford Bridge this season.
Why Maresca must ditch Badiashile after Celtic display
Last night was a disaster from top to bottom for the Blues, with new boss Maresca having an insight into how much of a difficult job he has on his hands in West London if he’s to change the club’s fortunes around.
However, his decision to exclude Trevor Chalobah from the tour of the US is now looking to be an awful decision, with the Chelsea academy graduate undoubtedly a better option than Badiashile for the Blues.
The centre-back been told he will not be in the Italian’s plans this season, with the club wanting a fee in the region of £35m to part ways with the 25-year-old – a decision that hasn’t gone down well with the fanbase.
As for the “broken” Badiashile, as described by Alex Goldberg after his display last night, he has simply not made the impact he would’ve desired since his move to the club.
It is never nice to see a player who arrived at the club with such high potential disappointments, but it is an example of how the club’s erratic dealings in the transfer market might not be the best way to transform the club back into title contenders.
Badisahile is seemingly lacking confidence and struggling to prove why the club forked out such a huge fee for his services, making the decision to omit Chalobah all the more confusing given his form towards the back end of last season that saw him start the final six games of the 2023/24 season.
With the club obviously looking to part ways with players to raise funds for yet more incomings, it would make sense to prioritise a move for Badiashile to allow him to reach his full potential elsewhere.
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Chalobah can still have an impact on the Blues squad, with Maresca desperately needing to rethink his current transfer plans and push the Frenchman closer to the exit door, whilst giving the Englishman the opportunity to prove himself once more.
