"Very strange" - Gus Poyet suggests Chelsea star squandered glorious goalscoring opportunity by 'trying to play it too clever'

Chelsea played out a disappointing 1-1 draw with Brighton in the Premier League on Wednesday. They could've won but Callum Hudson-Odoi squandered a golden goal-scoring opportunity.

The winger was played through by Romelu Lukaku while Chelsea were leading 1-0 in the second half. But instead of shooting, he decided to find Mason Mount with a poor attempt, leading to an interception by an opposition defender.

Former Blues midfielder Gus Poyet has hit out at the Englishman over that ridiculous decision, terming it strange.

"I’m surprised he [Hudson-Odoi] needed to pass. It’s not like he tried to pass over the defender or around him. He hit the defender straight away. That’s very strange.

"Normally you miss that pass in behind because the other player is too far ahead of you or you try to play it too clever. He didn’t do one or the other. He just hit the defender. Very strange," Poyet said on Amazon Prime.

Similarly, former Chelsea forward Eniola Aluko also lashed out at Callum Hudson-Odoi for his costly decision in the Brighton clash. The former England striker believes it would've been better if the winger had released the pass earlier.

"At this level you’ve got to be better," the former Blues star said on Amazon Prime.

"It’s a 2 v 1 situation, maybe he needs to release it quicker. But you’ve got to make that pass, you have to make that pass. That’s the difference potentially between winning the game and getting a sickening equalizer at the end and drawing the game," she added.

The 1-1 draw with Brighton came as a huge blow to Chelsea. The Blues drew first blood via a Romelu Lukaku strike in the 28th minute of the encounter and could've killed off the game had Callum Hudson-Odoi taken his chance. The painful moment came in the closing moments of the match as Brighton scored an injury time equalizer.

Chelsea's current position in the Premier League table

The Blues maintain their second spot in the Premier League table with 42 points from 20 games. That is just one more than Liverpool, who occupy third position in the standings, with 41 points from 19 games.

The two clubs are now scheduled to face each other for the second time this season, at Stamford Bridge on January 2. It remains to be seen who will come out with the bragging rights in London on Sunday.