Supporters have called on Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly to leave in January after his display in the 4-0, third-round FA Cup defeat against Manchester City on Sunday.
The 31-year-old Senegal international started in the fixture at the Etihad Stadium and looked heavy chasing Man City's forwards. He was at fault for the third goal as he failed to close in on Phil Foden, who smashed the ball home past Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Koulibaly's poor display was further compounded in the second half when he gave away the penalty after fouling Foden inside the box, and up stepped Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez, who made no mistake to score past Kepa and seal the emphatic victory.
Fans on social media believe Koulibaly is not the player he was while turning out for Serie A giants Napoli and is a downgrade for Antonio Rudiger, who left Stamford Bridge to sign for Real Madrid at the start of the current campaign.
Koulibaly has to be the WORST centre back I’ve ever seen. - @ibzsmo3k
I got it wrong on Koulibaly I thought he’d be a brilliant signing for Chelsea due to how well he did at Serie A. He’s just so aggressive and goes all in and doesn’t have the physicality anymore to recover. He just strips against attackers nowadays. - @_halfspaces
They told us Koulibaly was top 5 CBs in world football. - @livzledgee
This Koulibaly is definitely not the “Napoli Koulibaly” Chelsea paid for!! - @burnarena
If I was John Terry I’d be ringing Koulibaly back and asking for him to return that shirt. - @CampoCFC
Koulibaly with all his experience is playing alongside an academy-level defender and he has managed to look like the Amateur. - @deoors
Koulibaly so far is Chelsea’s worst signing of the summer if you ask me. Mistimed tackles, misplaced passes, losing the ball easily, no coordination. It’s even suicidal to leave these young ones at the mercy of Koulibaly’s blushes at the back.
He’s closely followed by Auba though. - @Froshbanks
Koulibaly needs to go. - @EbereCFC
Koulibaly & Jorginho need to leave Chelsea ASAP!🤡 - @RobKirianki
The first major business from Chelsea next season is to let Koulibaly leave. - @comics_damires
It’s just criminal to allow Rudiger to leave Chelsea for this Koulibaly, it’s just shameful 🤦🏻🤦🏻🤦🏻🤦🏻 - @lekxyman
That switch from Rudiger to Koulibaly has to be one of the biggest downgrades in football history. - @omwanaballer
So lucky that we got Chalobah for free. He is better than Koulibaly, Fofana and Badishile! - @Kiswili_10
Chalobah is better than Koulibaly at the moment, no reason why he shouldn’t be starting in all honesty. - @CFCPys
All I have to say is may God forgive all of us that said Kalidou Koulibaly is an upgrade on Antonio Rudiger 😭 - @badboy_jeremy1
Rudiger was so key to success under Tuchel. Rudiger single-handedly started attacks. Koulibaly isn't at that level anymore to be able to do so. The attacker's confidence will come from knowing that any player in the team can/will try to pick them out at any time. That's hugely lacking now! - @MrGeorgeBenson
We genuinely lost Rudiger and replaced him with Koulibaly. Got it wrong, it’s a massive downgrade. - @GlorySake
We replaced Rudiger with KOULIBALY 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 - @CFCKaz6
Koulibaly should’ve just continued in Serie A where we all assumed he was good without watching him 😭 - @UTDTrey
I think Koulibaly has been exposed. I think the Premier League shows exactly who is a world-class defender, in Serie A he looked phenomenal, an absolute shadow of himself since arriving in England. - @A1Chels_
Koulibaly is one of the biggest myths in football history. Serie A fans tried to convince us he was him. - @mxdric
Potter doesn’t have the ability to read games. How can you put Koulibaly who is fond of making mistakes alongside three inexperienced defenders to play Man City and leave Thiago Silva on the bench? We really need Tuchel back. - @mikel_spade
Graham Potter is our problem, if he continues to be our coach till the end of the season we will be relegated. - Ofori Amanfo
Potter has no formation and tactical knowledge to lead Chelsea. - Nathaniel Agyei Peprah Diffaral
Chelsea made awful decisions in signing these players - Koulibaly and Aubameyang - then sacking Thomas Tuchel for Graham Potter. Two wrongs at the same time. - @Kiswili_10
Aubameyang has to leave Chelsea this window. After being subbed in and subbed off in the same match, he’s not been included in the squad for today. - @sholashegun
It is time for some players to leave Chelsea, the likes of Koulibaly, Ziyech, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Pulisic, and even Aubameyang. - @TobiasMurimi
Koulibaly needs to step up, he’s not worthy of wearing JT’s number 26!!!!! - Alison Bernia
Koulibaly always pulling opponents' shirts because you are soo slow and jittery every time he has the ball, he is not good enough and must step up... - Sydney Ngwerume
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