Liam Delap proving his worth at Chelsea - despite his horror miss | OneFootball

Struggles in front of goal continue, but hat-trick of assists in selfless performance against Hull shows why his move to the Blues can still work out

On a routine FA Cup night up north for Chelsea, all the plaudits naturally went the way of Pedro Neto for his hat-trick.

That far less of the acclaim went to Liam Delap was perhaps symbolic of the selfless performance he put in during the course of Friday night's 4-0 win over Hull City, which ensured Chelsea avoided slipping on a potential banana skin and secured safe passage to the FA Cup fifth round.

Delap has not had the easiest time at Chelsea since his £30million move from Ipswich in the summer. Injuries have restricted his minutes in his maiden campaign for the Blues, and he has struggled to provide a regular tally of goals when he has played, often because his appearances have come off the bench but also because of a failure to finish clinically.

Delap wastes a glorious chance against Hull

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Slightly off the pace with his finishing once more, the 23-year-old squandered a glorious chance to put Chelsea in front when he charged down goalkeeper Dillon Phillips’ clearance, blocking it against the crossbar. Yet he was then lethargic on the rebound, allowing Phillips the time to get back and block.

“I swear on my life I almost ran off [the pitch],” he told the BBC after the match. “I thought it went in and then I was waiting for the ref to blow his whistle. Obviously, I shouldn’t have waited for the ref to blow his whistle. It's silly from me but, yeah, crazy.”

Delap was in high spirits as he made that admission, and the fact he was able to joke about the situation in hindsight was doubtless because he had since restored confidence with his hat-trick of assists.

The set-up for Estevao was particularly impressive work from the ex-Hull loanee against his former team, Delap dropping his shoulder, going round the outside, then showing nifty footwork to lay off the ball for the Brazilian to convert. It was encouraging to see the Chelsea striker unshaken by his earlier miss, and also selfless in his approach.

“Fantastic, a great run,” Rosenior said. “That's what Liam is all about: running in behind, using his speed — and then his awareness to pick out Estevao was top.”

Of Delap’s all-round performance, his manager, Rosenior, explained afterwards: “To be a No9, especially in the system that we play, it's not always about yourself. It's about bringing other people into play. It's about sometimes making sacrifice runs so other players get the space, and I thought he started our press so well.”

Pedro Neto celebrates scoring against Hull with Delap

Action Images via Reuters

Criticism of Delap this season is understandable given he has scored just twice in 23 appearances for the Blues, yet it has also gone too far at times. It is a difficult challenge for any young striker to hit the ground running after their big move to one of the big six. The scathing criticism hurled at Viktor Gyokeres at Arsenal or, at times, to Benjamin Sesko at Manchester United this season shows as much — as does the abuse Nicolas Jackson received for much of his Chelsea career.

And Delap has not only had the extra hurdle of injury issues to overcome but also something of an immovable object in the form of Joao Pedro: another superb striker to compete with, signed in the same summer for double the money Chelsea paid for Delap himself. Starts are harder to come by because of the Brazilian's impact.

As Joao Pedro enjoys a purple patch similar to his form at the start of the season, Delap must stick to the task, keep making an impression where he can, play selflessly but be ruthless when a chance falls his way. His display at the MKM Stadium — particularly how he responded to that early miss — will have pleased Rosenior and offers something of a relief to any Chelsea fans worried his move has just not worked out. It still can.