Mykhailo Mudryk was the only fringe player to pass his audition to face Real Madrid as Chelsea were gunned down over 90 minutes by a well-drilled Brighton.
Chelsea’s team of strangers fought hard under new caretaker manager Frank Lampard, who made six changes as he returned to the Stamford Bridge dugout for the first time in his second spell in charge of the club, but they lacked the quality of their opponents and fell to a 2-1 defeat.
Conor Gallagher opened the scoring for Chelsea, getting the club’s first goal in over 390 minutes of football, after a wicked deflection off Lewis Dunk.
It came after Mudryk picked up an Enzo Fernandez pass between the lines and drove at the Brighton defence, before cushioning his reverse pass so that Gallagher could take his shot first time. Mudryk now has two assists in the Premier League this season, a tally not bettered by any of his team-mates.
The 22-year-old was played into positions to use his pace as an outlet, and he put in a dangerous cross for Raheem Sterling in the opening minutes that was well-defended by Dunk. He fired a shot wide too, before Joel Veltman received a very early booking after hauling Mudryk down.
Chelsea were dominated in the second half, but the Ukrainian was one of the few to hit the target and force Robert Sanchez into action, the Brighton goalkeeper saving well with his feet.
In the 94th minute, Mudryk had a final attempt after springing off the left flank and letting fly from 25 yards. He came close and it was only going to be him who earned an unlikely point to add gloss on a terrible afternoon.
Mudryk, Gallagher and Kepa Arrizabalaga were the three Blues players to leave the game with any credit. Chelsea were shown to be a significantly worse team by the Seagulls, who are ten points above the Blues having played two games fewer.
It's remarkable to think that Chelsea spent over £80million to sign Graham Potter and Marc Cucurella earlier in the season from Brighton, but still find themselves in this position.
A host of other fringe players such as Denis Zakaria, Trevoh Chalobah, Benoit Badiashile, Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic got minutes on Saturday afternoon, but they are unlikely to start against Real in the Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday night.
They didn't show enough to be selected ahead of those who were rested, with Thiago Silva and N’Golo Kante among those kept fresh for midweek.
Co-owner Todd Boehly watched on at the latest despairing episode in Chelsea’s season as it fades away to a dismal conclusion. Still 11th in the Premier League, the last match of real consequence is the second leg against Real.
The 14-time winners and Champions League's most successful manager Carlo Ancelotti must be beaten, and Chelsea must score at least twice to overcome the 2-0 first leg defeat.
Only a miracle can save Chelsea's season, but maybe Mudryk can provide it.
