Chelsea fans have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts on Ross Barkley’s lacklustre debut for his new club.
The Blues were booted out of the Carabao Cup thanks to a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal in their semi-final second leg tie at the Emirates.
Going into the tie 0-0, Eden Hazard opened the scoring for the visitors early on, giving them a crucial away goal.
However they could not hold the lead for long – an unfortunate deflection off Antonio Rudiger from a Shkodran Mustafi header taking the ball into the Chelsea net.
Granit Xhaka then scored on the hour mark to make it 2-1 for the Gunners.
While the result was more than disappointing, it marked a landmark occasion for one man – January signing Ross Barkley – who was making his debut for the club after coming on as a first half substitute for the injured Willian.
With the scores tied on his arrival, it was hoped the Englishman could spur his new side onto victory, however what happened was the complete opposite.
Barkley’s lack of football (he hasn’t played at all this season) became horribly evident quickly. Late tackles, poor touches and mis-placed passes were the dish of the day, and to cap it off, he produced perhaps the worst corner ever witnessed in the last seconds of stoppage time to throw away a glorious opportunity for a lat equaliser.
Antonio Conte wasn’t best pleased with his performances, saying: “Barkley has a lot of space for improvement, he is working with us only two weeks but for sure today I was forced to make this substitution, but he can improve a lot.”
But it wasn’t just the Chelsea boss who was underimpressed …
Ross Barkley in tonight's match 😂 pic.twitter.com/dc852GHndE
— Phil Whitaker (@PhilWhit88) January 24, 2018
https://twitter.com/acampbell68/status/956284631631966209
Martin Tyler: "Ross Barkley brings with him from Everton excellent set piece delivery"
Erm…
— Adam Jones (@Adam_Jones94) January 24, 2018
The keeper going up for a last minute corner only for Ross Barkley to hit the first man. You can take the boy out of Everton…
— Darren (@nsno_83) January 24, 2018
https://twitter.com/MarcusfutboIv3/status/956282078634627072
Big turning point when Chelsea had to bring on Ross Barkley for Willian. Like swapping a bow and arrow for a spoon.
— Tim Stillman (@Stillmanator) January 24, 2018
Chelsea need a goal. They could do with Ross Barkley doing something here. So far, it's possibly the least inspiring debut since The Seahorses.
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) January 24, 2018
🗣️ Conte: "When there is an injury to one of your best players it is not simple, especially when on the bench the only substitute is Ross Barkley." pic.twitter.com/7rjRhg8Yth
— ODDSbible (@ODDSbible) January 25, 2018
https://twitter.com/GoodisonPics/status/956284340761219075
Sadiq Khan calling for inquiry into sale of Ross Barkley , London Mayor wants to know how Chelsea paid £15 mil for a player only worth £1 coin pic.twitter.com/O5kxHOBSP9
— Paul LFC (@2tea2toast) January 24, 2018
Ross Barkley is a ghost. He doesn't want the ball he doesn't want to shoot. No impact on the game since he come on! @ChelseaFC @RBarkley20 #chelseafc #ARSCHE
— UDDIN (@TraderUDDIN) January 24, 2018
“rOsS bArKlEy Is ThE nEw LaMpArD” pic.twitter.com/cdhrlBJGj9
— Ruthie (@BunchOfBallacks) January 24, 2018
"Barkley is ambling about the pitch like that fella out of Saving Private Ryan searching for his arm"
Still the most accurate description of @rbarkley20 I've ever seen.
— FinKitch (@FinKitch) January 19, 2018