Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel labelled Nicolas Jackson’s sending-off in opposition to Flamengo a “stupid mistake” and stated his outdated membership lack leaders.
Jackson was proven a straight pink card for a studs-up problem on Ayrton Lucas 4 minutes after approaching as an alternative to new signing Liam Delap on the Lincoln Monetary Area in Philadelphia as Chelsea collapsed to a 3-1 loss on the Membership World Cup.
Chelsea seemed to be on observe for a second win on the competitors after Pedro Neto’s breakaway opener within the first half however poor defending noticed them concede twice in three minutes after the break, with Jackson’s second of insanity following moments later.
Wallace Yan’s late aim sealed the victory for Flamengo however Jackson’s sending-off, on his twenty fourth birthday, and solely six weeks after he noticed pink for an elbow on Newcastle defender Sven Botman within the Premier League, was the dominant speaking level.
Talking on DAZN, Mikel, who gained 11 trophies in an 11-year spell at Chelsea, stated of Jackson’s pink card: “Unbelievable. Silly, silly, silly mistake.
“I do not know what is going on via his head. You come into the sport, you are 2-1 down, your staff wants you, and also you try this.
“He did it within the vital Premier League recreation in opposition to Newcastle, once we wanted to win to qualify for the Champions League locations, and he has finished it once more.
“You can’t keep making mistakes.”
Jackson’s pink card got here after a powerful first begin from Delap, a £30m signing from Ipswich who has joined Chelsea to compete for the Senegal worldwide’s beginning spot in Enzo Maresca’s staff.
“I don’t care what his frustration is,” added Mikel. “Chelsea is a massive football club and it’s about competition.
Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson left the pitch solely minutes after approaching
“If you are angry, if you are p****d off that Delap is coming to the club and he is going to be your competition, you have to embrace it.
“If you’re an enormous participant, you embrace it.
“Jackson needs to have a look at himself and think where he wants his Chelsea career to go from here.
“The supervisor has introduced in a striker, so now if the supervisor begins to doubt him, if he retains making errors and letting his team-mates and the membership down, then it’s time for Delap to begin the video games.
“The manager has a decision to make now.”
Maresca would not be drawn on Jackson’s sending-off in his post-match interview. “It was a red card, so nothing to say,” he stated.
However Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella defended his team-mate, saying he’ll study from it. “It is a bit of bad luck,” stated Cucurella.
“He tried to put his foot in to kick the ball but he kicked the player’s leg. That’s it. We now miss him for the next game.
“He’s a younger participant with a whole lot of high quality and possibly he wants to enhance this. We’re not excellent, it is a part of the sport.”
‘Chelsea need to bring in a top goalkeeper’
Mikel’s criticism was not just aimed at Jackson. He felt Chelsea’s collapse was indicative of a lack of leadership generally.
“If you discuss leaders, folks that may be on the pitch and management the sport and their team-mates, that’s what Chelsea had when the likes of John Terry and Didier Drogba had been on the membership.
“People who can call the players around and say, ‘Listen, let’s calm down a bit’. I don’t see that here, I don’t see leaders. I just see players making mistakes.”
Bruno Henrique celebrates scoring Flamengo’s equalising aim
Mikel felt goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was a type of gamers, along with Jackson.
“I’ve talked about him so many times,” he added. “Sanchez, I don’t think he is a goalkeeper that can lead us to winning titles.
“If you wish to win titles and change into an enormous soccer membership, you must have a prime goalkeeper.
“For me, I’ve said it so many times, he’s not that guy, he’s not that goalkeeper.
“We have to strengthen this summer time and usher in a prime, prime goalkeeper if we need to compete by way of successful titles.”
The defeat to Flamengo leaves Chelsea second in Group D on the Membership World Cup, three factors behind leaders Flamengo forward of their ultimate group recreation in opposition to ES Tunis on Wednesday.
