"Woeful and hopeless" - Chelsea fans think it's the end after last night's horror display

A Chelsea player could've played his last game for the club in Thursday evening's 1-0 defeat to Manchester City following a terrible performance.

Riyad Mahrez's goal in the second half was enough to settle the game and kickstart City's title challenge. For Chelsea, all it's done is further their misery under manager Graham Potter.

The Blues sit 10th in the Premier League table, a whopping 10 points off the pace in the top four race despite spending £278 million over the summer.

Chelsea replaced Thomas Tuchel with Potter in September after a poor run of results. Using a squad made up of players he didn't sign, Potter is struggling.

Raheem Sterling's injury within the opening few minutes against his former side forced an early reshuffle. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang replaced Sterling, failing to have an impact on the game at all.

With Chelsea one goal down in the second half, Aubameyang was hauled off for Omari Hutchinson and looked visibly frustrated.

BBC Pundit and former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton believes Aubameyang may not get another chance under Potter after scoring one Premier League goal all season. He also called out Marc Cucurella for an underwhelming performance, claiming the full-back is below the required level at Stamford Bridge.

Sutton explained: "He's not the only one. [Marc] Cucurella, they've spent an absolute fortune on him and he looks well, well short for a Chelsea team that wants to win trophies.

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"I wonder whether Graham Potter is thinking, how can I play Aubameyang again in a Chelsea jersey after how woeful he was. I'm always wary to criticise players for lack of effort or poor body language but Aubameyang absolutely epitomised that.

"I thought he was woeful and hopeless and didn't give anywhere near enough.

"He looked disinterested and I suspect Graham Potter will be thinking, blimey, he is never going to play in a Chelsea jersey again under me."

Chelsea finished the game with Hutchinson, Lewis Hall and Carney Chukwuemeka on the pitch, three teenagers with bundles of energy.

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Potter claimed post-match that Aubameyang's withdrawal was down to a lack of consistent game time since the World Cup break. The former Brighton boss confirmed he'd yet to speak to the 33-year-old about his decision.

He said: "He came on after one minute and hadn't played for a while. He put in a shift for us and I thought he did his bit for the team. He fatigued a bit so we thought we needed a bit of energy and the subs brought that.

"I haven't had time to speak to him in-depth but he understands. Players want to help the team and it's a decision that had to be made. He gave everything for the team. That was the decision."

Topics: Chelsea, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Premier League

Daniel Marland

Daniel is a social editor for SPORTbible after moving from the writing team. Nearly scored past Stormzy at Old Trafford once.

@DanMarland_