Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson has again been called out by Alan Shearer. The England legend criticised the Blues star during Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford.
A goal in each half from Scott McTominay gave United a vital three points to ease the pressure on manager Erik ten Hag. Chelsea had equalised through Cole Palmer but were unable to threaten the hosts’ goal in the second half anywhere near as much as they did in the first.
Jackson spurned a great chance to score in the opening 45 minutes when he was set one on one by Raheem Sterling. The Senegal star’s touch was heavy and United keeper Andre Onana was quickly out to thwart him.
Former Scotland forward Ally McCoist was on co-commentary duty for Amazon Prime and criticised Sterling’s pass, claiming it didn’t give Jackson the best chance to score. But Shearer disagreed with McCoist at half-time and said Jackson should have taken the shot first time.
He said: “I think that’s a decent pass from Sterling, I disagree with Ally who said it was poor on commentary. There’s no need for Jackson to let the ball run across him – he’s seven yards in front of goal, in the centre, just have a shot!
“We said before the game he takes too many touches, forget about it, for me that’s an incredible chance they’ve wasted.”
Former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink also felt Jackson should have done better. He commented: “Sterling’s pass to Jackson, it’s fine – Jackson should not take two touches there, he should not!”
It isn’t the first time Shearer has questioned Jackson since his summer arrival from Villarreal. In October he claimed the 22-year-old was not a natural goalscorer following Chelsea’s 2-0 loss at home to Brentford.
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino hit out at Shearer at the time, responding: “It’s really dangerous, this type of analysis because it’s one game. I cannot lie, it wasn’t his best.
“But we need to be fair. If you watch Luton, if you watch Dortmund in pre-season, if you watch Liverpool, you will see this is one player. Brentford game was another player.
“I agree with the analysis, but it’s not fair to say he is not this or that or to say he is not capable of doing what we expect of him. I believe in him, I believe. The only problem is time.”
