Chelsea cantered to a 3-1 win against BATE Borisov in the Europa League at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night, but fans weren’t happy with Willian.
The Brazilian came in for some harsh criticism after what many fans saw as a poor display, despite setting up the second goal of the night for Ruben Loftus-Cheek in just the eighth minute.
Loftus-Cheek by contrast had a fantastic night. scoring his first Chelsea goal since April 2016 and completing the first hat-trick in Europe by an Englishman since Harry Kane in 2014.
BATE Borisov scored a consolation goal late on but the points were already secured by then.
And Willian was long gone – hooked in the 57th minute and replaced by Victor Moses.
COMMENTARY
We don’t think Willian had a terrible game tonight and getting hooked after 57 minutes is as likely with a nod towards the Premier League games at the weekend as it is about his display tonight. One thing you can’t blame the Chelsea fans for though is expecting more from one of their attacking players. Loftus-Cheek scored three goals tonight and that’s more than Willian has scored all season. He’s managed two in 14 games now and that’s not good enough for a player of his quality. Chelsea have goals everywhere, not least from Eden Hazard, who missed today with a back problem. But Willian should be scoring more and you could say the same about Olivier Giroud who has now gone 10 games this season without a goal. He was unlucky tonight but you can’t keep saying that.
Here are the best reactions from Chelsea fans to Willian on Thursday night:
Willian what a joke.. as always
— Aqib Mohammed Khan (@ForeverBlueAMK) October 25, 2018
Willian leave my club
— obish (@inioIuwa) October 25, 2018
https://twitter.com/CoolishaMick/status/1055556945288065025
https://twitter.com/CarvalhoJTElite/status/1055554837004324864
Bring CHO on for Willian, I beg of you.
— Gustavo (@prxshiouz) October 25, 2018
How does Sarri play Willian week in and out? Ridiculous
— Aditya Kadrekar (@catrekar) October 25, 2018
But why is willian still playing for this club?
— Abdul-Rahman (@A_Almuhamsay) October 25, 2018
Willian’s being average against some Belarusian farmers. Found his level I see.
— Mac (@MackenzieCFC) October 25, 2018
Can't really wait to see CHO play tonight…
Willian still poor when it comes to decision making…@ChelseaFC bring on CHO#CFCBATE— Hustle AmosKaizer Hustle ?? (@AmosKaizer) October 25, 2018