After a dismal 3-0 defeat to Brighton on Tuesday, April 21, the Blues have now lost five league games in a row without scoring a single goal in any of them.
The defeat saw Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior sacked just three months into his tenure, and he may have an unlikely culprit to at least partially blame: Marc Cucurella's barber.
Several hours before Tuesday's kickoff, an X post spread online that claimed Chelsea would be without João Pedro and Cole Palmer for the match at the Amex Stadium.
The post, which tagged several fantasy Premier League accounts and was quickly deleted, also included photos of Chelsea left back Cucurella getting his hair cut.
Neither Palmer nor Pedro made Chelsea's squad for the game against Brighton. In Palmer's case, there had been no previous knowledge of his hamstring injury.
So Cucurella’s barber had team news:[screenshot from post this morning] pic.twitter.com/ivxBWITTDU
The BBC reached out to Chelsea and said the club did not deny the authenticity of the post.
The lineup leak was not the first time Chelsea has dealt with the issue this season. The team's lineup for a Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain last month made the rounds hours ahead of kickoff.
Asked about the PSG leak, Rosenior said: "I wasn’t aware. I’m sure we’ll get to the bottom of that if that’s the case."
Dominic Calvert-Lewin of Leeds United misses a headed chance while under pressure from Leny Yoro of Manchester United at Old Trafford on April 13, 2026 in Manchester, England. Leeds United won the match, 2-1.Djordje Petrovic of AFC Bournemouth attempts to make a save while under pressure from Gabriel and William Saliba of Arsenal during the Premier League match at Emirates Stadium on April 11, 2026 in London, England. Bournemouth won the match, 2-1.Konstantinos Mavropanos of West Ham United celebrates scoring his team's fourth goal in a 4-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at London Stadium on April 10, 2026 in London, England.Nottingham Forest's Taiwo Awoniyi (9) scores his club's third goal in a 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on March 22, 2026.Brighton's Danny Welbeck celebrates scoring his team's opener against Liverpool on March 21, 2026.
Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool reacts during the Premier League match against Brighton on March 21, 2026.
Harry Maguire of Manchester United celebrates his side's second goal against AFC Bournemouth on March 21, 2026.
James Milner celebrates Brighton's win against Brentford on Feb. 21, 2026.
West Ham United's Valentin Castellanos shoots against Chelsea on Jan. 31, 2026. Chelsea won the match, 3-2.
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Manchester City's Rayan Cherki celebrates after scoring his team's second goal against Nottingham Forest on Dec. 27.
Manchester United's Patrick Dorgu celebrates after scoring the opening goal against Newcastle on Dec. 26.
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Erling Haaland of Manchester City competes for a header whilst under pressure from Sepp van den Berg and Kristoffer Ajer of Brentford at Gtech Community Stadium on Oct. 5, 2025. Man City won the match, 1-0.