Fans joke that Kepa Arrizabalaga is the Chelsea manager after giving out tactics during Brighton defeat

Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga was 'dishing out tactics' during the club's 2-1 defeat to Brighton on Saturday – and fans were quick to react.

The Blues have now fallen to three consecutive defeats in all competitions after in-form Brighton completed an impressive comeback on a sunny afternoon in West London.

Conor Gallagher opened the scoring after some great play from Mykhailo Mudryk, but the Seagulls managed to secure all three points thanks to goals from Danny Welbeck and Julio Enciso.

Brighton, who sit seventh in the Premier League ladder, inched closer to the European spots while Frank Lampard's side lag behind in mid-table after some dismal form.

There were some [slightly] positive signs for Chelsea in the opening stages, although a moment involving captain Kepa Arrizabalaga in the 26th minute raised eyebrows amongst some supporters.

As you can see from the images below, the Spaniard appeared to be handing out instructions to Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah and Denis Zakaria.

Raheem Sterling eventually came over to offer his two cents before the commentator described the scenes, saying: "Kepa bringing experience and authority to Chelsea's backline."

Kepa's actions in the first-half certainly sparked reaction from fans on social media.

You know its bad when Kepa is giving out the tactics 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/0CkwKNjn6K

— Swavey #LampardOut (@idk_you999) April 15, 2023

One commented on the clip, saying: "Tears. Chalobah and Zakaria can’t believe who’s trying to give them instructions," while another wrote: "Kepa is actually our manager. The 2019 memes have come true."

A third said: "This is embarrassing.. Kepa is our manager. WE’RE FINISHED," and a fourth noted: "You know it's bad when Kepa is giving out the tactics."

A fifth added: "He is not new to this."

Kepa, of course, made headlines in 2019 when he defied manager Maurizio Sarri's attempt to substitute him during Chelsea's Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City.

It was later branded "a big misunderstanding" by the Spanish goalkeeper, who apologised for the incident, but plenty of fans poked fun at the Wembley moment.

😳 - Have you EVER seen anything like it!?

Maurizio Sarri tries to substitute Kepa Arrizabalaga for Willy Caballero, but Kepa refuses to come off and Sarri is absolutely FURIOUS! 😡 pic.twitter.com/Q81v6ry3Kk

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) February 24, 2019

Thoughts on Chelsea's form of late? Is Frank Lampard the man to take over on a permanent basis?

Let us know in the comments.