Noni Madueke torn apart for 'absolutely appalling' display at Middlesbrough as Chelsea legend Frank Leboeuf claims struggling winger 'doesn't know what to do with the ball'

Chelsea were beaten 1-0 by Middlesbrough in the first leg of their semi-final tie, and Madueke was hooked after 63 minutes, to be replaced by Mykhailo Mudryk. Throughout the 90 minutes, Madueke had 53 touches, sent two shots off target, completed three of five dribbles, and was dispossessed once.

Leboeuf felt that Madueke's performance was dismal, telling ESPN: "They don’t know how to cross the ball, they don’t know how to play one-twos or with pace in the game, when they have some chances to go or it, they go back.

"It is like the coach told me to not lose the ball and not risk anything, maybe it’s that. Madueke at one point, he made the cross where we could see there was no Chelsea player in the 16-yard box. But he made it.

"The last time I saw that I was 14 years old in my village where you don’t know what to do with the ball so you cross it and you don’t care about it.

"The guy is a professional player, it means he crossed by instinct, he doesn’t know what he does, he does not inform himself on what he has to do. That is absolutely appalling. It's not just him. They are all the same. It is amazing."

Madueke has struggled to impress across his 13 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea this season, scoring just three goals. He has scored in both of the Blues' last two Premier League games, against Crystal Palace and Luton, but his performance against Boro left plenty to be desired.

Chelsea will have to overturn their 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough next week in the second leg of their League Cup semi-final at Stamford Bridge. The Blues will first play Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday as they look to push for a European qualification spot.