Marc Cucurella's defending was described as "embarrassing" on Match of the Day after Chelsea's 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday.
The Blues slipped to a second successive Premier League defeat at Stamford Bridge following Gabriel Magalhaes' second-half goal. Graham Potter's side are now seventh in the table, five points behind Tottenham in fourth and 13 adrift of surprise leaders Arsenal.
Chelsea signed Cucurella from Brighton in August and he's done well since the £60million deal was finalised, making 16 appearances. Yet the 24-year-old didn't cover himself in glory on Sunday and faced the wrath of Alan Shearer and Micah Richards later that day.
Gabriel's goal was poorly defended. Kai Havertz and Thiago Silva both failed to clear Bukayo Saka's corner, while Cucurella remained focused on staying tight to his marker Granit Xhaka. As the ball bounced across the six-yard box, Gabriel was on hand to convert.
"It's embarrassing from a Chelsea point of view," said Shearer when analysing the match-winning moment. "So many players could have cleared it, whether it’s Havertz or Silva. The keeper [Edouard Mendy] isn’t given a chance. It wasn’t even a great ball in.
"Look at Cucurella in there with [Granit] Xhaka. He doesn’t move at all. He just holds Xhaka, there’s nothing at all from him!"
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Former Manchester City defender Richards added: "It says, 'My man is not going to score' - but he’s taken that literally! All he [Cucurella] has to do is move an inch to the left and he can clear it! I don’t understand what he was thinking there at all."
The Blues were also criticised for their lack of creativity in attack. They managed just five shots all game - only one on target - compared to Arsenal's tally of 14. Chelsea's lack of goals has been a theme all season, managing just 17 in the Premier League.
Only eight teams boast a worst record - Crystal Palace (15), Aston Villa (14), West Ham (12), Everton (11), Bournemouth (15), Southampton (12), Wolves (eight) and Nottingham Forest (10). Ering Haaland (18) has scored more Premier League goals than Chelsea.
On Chelsea's attack, Shearer added: "They could still be there now and they still wouldn’t have scored such was their lack of quality in the final third. They got into one or two decent positions, not many, but when they did their final ball was terrible.
"Havertz takes way too many touches when he gets to the box, it was far too easy for Arsenal to get men back behind the ball. Today they had no chance of scoring."
Although Chelsea's campaign isn't going to plan, Arsenal are flying. Mikel Arteta's side have won 11 of their first 13 Premier League games to sit two points clear of champions Man City at the top of the table - and 13 points clear of Manchester United in fifth.
