Gary Neville claims two Chelsea players were ‘useless as a pair’ in Brighton defeat, ‘there is a responsibility’…

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Gary Neville fired major criticism towards two Chelsea players after their performances in the shocking team defeat away to Brighton in the Premier League.

The Blues let down the travelling supporters on Friday night during the 3-0 loss at the Amex Stadium.

Chelsea’s player ratings against Brighton highlighted so many below par individual displays, which culminated in a really poor outcome. If results go against them this weekend, Enzo Maresca’s side could drop from fourth to sixth in the league table.

Chelsea look a shadow of themselves in 2025 with such inconsistent form in their displays. It means that the race for Champions League qualification is becoming increasingly more challenging.

• READ MORE: What Chelsea owners are thinking about Enzo Maresca after FA Cup exit and poor Premier League form

Gary Neville rips into ‘useless’ Chelsea combination in Brighton defeat

During his post-match analysis of Brighton versus Chelsea on Sky Sports’ Main Event channel (10:38pm, 14 February), Gary Neville didn’t hold back with his criticism of Blues stars Cole Palmer and Christopher Nkunku.

Neville said: “There is a responsibility on the best players in the team to lift the team. Nkunku and Palmer are excellent players. I just thought they were really poor tonight. You’ve got to take responsibility if you’re a top player…

“They needed him (Palmer) to deliver. And Nkunku, who’s been stop-start since he came to Chelsea, it’s time now for him to step up. These two are really, really talented players. Go and win your team games. I thought they were useless as a pair tonight being honest with you.”

For once, Palmer was pretty quiet and struggled to influence the game against Brighton like he usually does from the No 10 position. As for Nkunku, it was another poor contribution at striker as he reminded everyone why he can’t operate well as a No 9.

The fact that Nicolas Jackson won’t be back from injury for Chelsea until April is beginning to look even more worrying.

Christopher Nkunku is a massive issue

Speaking earlier in February, Maresca insisted Nkunku could play a bigger role for Chelsea. It’s pretty evident from recent performances that he offers very little threat when asked to lead the line as the main centre-forward, though.

Many fans were frustrated that he wasn’t starting earlier in the season, but fitting Nkunku and Palmer into the same XI looks like a real chore.

Palmer and Jackson usually link up superbly well together in the final third because they’re on the same wavelength. Unfortunately, the difference with Nkunku is that they both want to drift deeper into the same pockets of space, which makes it so easy for opposition teams to defend against.

At this moment, we’re struggling to think how Maresca could get the best out of Nkunku without playing him in a deeper role.