Brighton3 - 0Chelsea

Madueke was forced off in the 21st minute of the contest at the Amex, and Maresca said after the match that the Englishman had picked up a hamstring problem, which is likely to keep him out of action for the next few weeks.

"Noni unfortunately has a hamstring problem so unfortunately will be out for a little while," Maresca told reporters.

The 22-year-old has been one of Chelsea's most productive players this season, scoring seven goals and registering three assists in 23 Premier League appearances, so his absence will be a big blow for the London club.

Kaoru Mitoma opened the scoring before Yankuba Minteh netted twice for Brighton in the comprehensive win, and Maresca claimed that it was his team's "worst performance" since his arrival as head coach last summer.

Maresca opens up on "worst performance" since arriving at Chelsea

"We approached the game quite well. We arrived quite well in the last third but then we struggled to create chances. Until a week or two ago that is something we were doing well," the manager added.

"Until the Mitoma goal we were in control. After the goal we lost something. We need to review it and think how we can improve.

"In this moment the bad feeling is that we look like we can concede chances easily, and we struggle to create chances. There are many reasons why, the injuries to our nines are part of that, but we have 13 games to go, and we need to finish in the best way.

"Probably since I arrived that is the worst performance, especially in the moment we are in. We are fourth in the league and winning tonight you can go one point from third and make the gap to the rest bigger.

"The performance is not one you want to offer, so we are very upset, and especially very sorry for the fans who were here, and in general to our fans, because in this moment you cannot offer this kind of performance with 14 games to go, now 13 games to go. In terms of desire, we need to show more."

When are Chelsea next in action?

Chelsea will be bidding to bounce back when they resume their Premier League campaign away to Aston Villa next Saturday, before ending the month with a home fixture against basement side Southampton.

The Blues have now been beaten in three of their last four matches in all competitions, and they currently have a major issue when it comes to the centre-forward spot, with Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu both injured.

Christopher Nkunku was given a rare chance to make his mark as a starter through the middle in the Premier League, but the 27-year-old, who was linked with a January loan move to Manchester United, struggled to have an impact.

Written by

Matt Law