<
>

Brighton vs Chelsea: Enzo Maresca decries 'worst performance'

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has said "everything" went wrong as his team succumbed to a 3-0 defeat at Brighton on Friday, describing it as the worst performance of his tenure.

It marks the second time in a week that Chelsea have fallen foul of Fabian Hurzeler's team. Maresca's side, who were without Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu through injury, were toothless up front and failed to register a single shot on target.

"My frustration was about everything," Maresca told Sky Sports after the loss. "We feel sorry for the fans that came. In the position that we are, arriving with 14 games to go, we need to do much better.

"We are in a moment when we feel we can concede easily and struggle to score. I think before the goal they didn't have some chances. There are many things we can do better.

"Now is the moment we need to stick together. I always feel pressure but this was the worst performance since I arrived. We are still fourth and still in the race to finish in Europe."

Chelsea have won just two of their last nine Premier League games and crashed out of the FA Cup at the hands of Brighton last week.

They remain fourth in the table, though one of Manchester City or Newcastle United could leapfrog them with a win in their clash on Saturday.

Brighton, meanwhile, moved into eighth with the win having won their first league game since the 7-0 humbling away at Nottingham Forest.