A tad harsh?
It would be an understatement to say that Tiémoué Bakayoko has underwhelmed for Chelsea this season. The French midfielder arrived from Monaco in the summer to replace the outgoing Nemanja Matić and fans were excited. Monaco had won Ligue 1 last season with a midfield pairing of him and Fabinho, but he has not been able to show the same form he did in France.
His season lowlight came at Vicarage Road when Chelsea lost 4-1 to Watford. During the first half Bakayoko picked up two yellow cards and was sent off before the break, leaving his team a huge task in the second half of beating Watford with one less player.
However, Antonio Conte still picks him regularly, partly due to his reluctance to play Cesc Fàbregas in a midfield two against sides who could expose his lack of athleticism. And he would likely play against Barcelona on Tuesday if he were not ruled out through injury.
While many Chelsea supporters understandably won’t have wanted him to play against Barcelona, some are actively celebrating his absence on social media, seeing it as giving them a bigger chance of overcoming the Catalan giants without the hindrance o Bakayoko playing in midfield.
You could argue it’s a bit harsh on the player.
Conte- Bakayoko is out of the Barcelona game
Me-#UCL #CFC #KTBFFH 💙 💙 💙 pic.twitter.com/IyljpXEtst
— ConciergeOfCrime 🇦🇺 (@ChelsForLife32) February 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/Wemmy__/status/964634282990940161
So glad that Bakayoko is out of the Barcelona game 🙏 Maybe he isn't injured but Conte has finally seen sense and decided to drop him after all of those poor performances. We didn't need him giving the ball away every minute 😑 We face an uphill task as it is without that. #CFC
— Tom Andrews (@CarefreeTom_182) February 18, 2018
That Moment when you confirm Bakayoko is Out of Chelsea Vs Barcelona pic.twitter.com/VMfzOlNCwK
— Mr. Mohammed (@pompeydboss) February 18, 2018
When Chelsea fans hear that Bakayoko isn’t playing against Barcelona pic.twitter.com/6RGt9iDXN6
— top charter (@General_North) February 18, 2018
Good news that Bakayoko is not fit to face Barcelona
— AS (@ArnoldSantos22) February 18, 2018
#Conte : Bakayoko is unavailable for the #Barcelona game. #Chelsea fans : pic.twitter.com/sVluG97V6Y
— Derp (@der_pun) February 18, 2018
Yessssss!!! good news for us! Bakayoko 'll be out if Chelsea game against barcelona next week!
— 𝐍𝐨𝐠𝐮i𝐭𝐨𝐧 ❼ (@noguiton_dave) February 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/TheBeardedRauI/status/964912022658932736
Conte: "I don't think Bakayoko is ready to play against Barcelona".
Live scenes of Chelsea fans.. pic.twitter.com/ovabaNee8b
— Emmanuel Swaka (@Swaka_Em) February 17, 2018
No Bakayoko for Barcelona pic.twitter.com/gVTshjCyH7
— ⭐⭐ (@SignEveryone) February 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/eyy_hoesay_/status/964876328976764928
Some fans even decided to send the player completely unwarranted abuse, which Bakayoko read and ‘liked’ on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/tundesubair2012/status/964133817110925312
@TimoeB08 if you play tonight I'm not watching
— arbaz (@rbazandwhat) February 12, 2018
IF #Mercurial is someone who is clever, lively, and quick.
Then with all due respect, so far,#Mercurial is NOT BakayokoPlease, if you truly want the best for this club, pretend you have ACL so you don't have to play for the rest of this season.
Thank you.
— Mmanwu'm A Navago Idah (@obalichi_) February 13, 2018
Which prompted others to send him tweets of encouragement.
Put all the criticism behind you, we are waiting for you 💙 .. @TimoeB08 pic.twitter.com/tdL7kVjW1q
— تركي (@tturki_24) February 13, 2018
It’s refreshing to see that the minority of abusive fans were outweighed by the majority of sympathetic fans.
@TimoeB08 Always keep in mind that we have plenty of Plastic fans. All the best with the recovery. 💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪
— 🦁🦁🦁2019🏆We hit more Boundaries than NZ (@BackOnYourTL) February 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/Bala1686Mohan/status/961299559056998405
It’s a shame that some fans often forget that footballers are human beings with emotions who often experience rough patches in their professional lives, and that social media gives them a platform to abuse the players. But it’s a small consolation to see other fans defending the underperforming player.
