Another week, and another defeat for Chelsea, as Frank Lampard’s men succumbed 2-1 to Brighton and Hove Albion this afternoon and the result leaves the club struggling in 11th place, a mere 12 points off the relegation places.

The Blues opened the scoring through Conor Gallagher, who was enjoying a rare start, and it looked as though their luck might be turning. Just before half-time, however, Danny Welbeck scored the equaliser and the momentum was clearly with the away side heading into the second half.

With just over 20 minutes remaining, Julio Enciso scored what turned out to be the winner, and if Todd Boehly had expected Lampard to bring with him a new manager bounce, that experiment has failed spectacularly.

Ben Chilwell was one of the club's numerous poor performers, winning only four duels and being dribbled past twice as he struggled at left-back.

The Englishman managed to lose possession eight times during the game, committed two fouls and failed to provide any sort of attacking intent, failing with his only dribble attempt and delivering just one successful cross.

He wasn’t the worst player for the Blues, however, as that accolade belongs to Denis Zakaria, who failed to deliver a performance that could give the club a chance of securing all three points.

How did Denis Zakaria perform against Brighton?

Journalist Nizaar Kinsella summed up his display rather well by saying he “struggled badly today”, while his Sofascore rating of 6.1/10 certainly justifies this.

The Switzerland international was statistically Chelsea’s worst player on the pitch, and during his 74-minute spell, he managed to complete a paltry nine passes – a shocking figure for a player who was looked upon to control the midfield and dictate play.

Alongside the poor passing statistics, he managed just 19 touches throughout as he clearly struggled to get into the match, having arguably been 'rusty' after a lack of football in 2023. He also won zero duels and was dribbled past on two occasions.

Defensively, Zakaria blocked one shot and made one clearance while losing possession four times – although to lose the ball, you actually have to have possession of it in the first place, and the game simply passed him by.

Lampard will need to have a tactical rethink ahead of next week's tie against Real Madrid in the Champions League, and with this performance today, there could be wholesale changes.

Zakaria hasn’t done himself any favours at all, and he may well have to resort to appearances from the bench from here on in.