FA Cup

'Koulibaly worst Chelsea signing and should leave in January' - Fans after Manchester City defeat

Dennis Mabuka
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Koulibaly of Chelsea.
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The 31-year-old was at fault for Man City's third goal, gave away a penalty and fans now believe he is a downgrade compared to Antonio Rudiger

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.

Editors' Picks

  1. Koulibaly not the “Napoli Koulibaly” Chelsea paid for
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    Koulibaly not the “Napoli Koulibaly” Chelsea paid for

    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

  2. Koulibaly is the worst Chelsea signing & needs to leave
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    Koulibaly is the worst Chelsea signing & needs to leave

    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

  4. Rudiger & Chalobah better than Koulibaly
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    Rudiger & Chalobah better than Koulibaly

    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

  5. Koulibaly should have stayed at Napoli
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    Koulibaly should have stayed at Napoli

    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

  7. Potter to blame for Koulibaly woes
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    Potter to blame for Koulibaly woes

    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

  8. Chelsea made a poor decision on Koulibaly & Auba
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    Chelsea made a poor decision on Koulibaly & Auba

    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

  9. Koulibaly needs to step up for Chelsea
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    Koulibaly needs to step up for Chelsea

    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