Chelsea defender Thiago Silva made his way over to the away end at Riverside to confront frustrated Chelsea fans on Tuesday.
The Blues’ miserable season continued as the out-of-sorts club lost 1-0 in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Middlesbrough, putting an end to their three-game winning run in all competitions.
Luckily for Mauricio Pochettino‘s side, they will have the chance to put things right in a fortnight’s time when they host the second leg at Stamford Bridge for a spot in the final.
The away supporters weren’t afraid to show their frustrations at full time, however, with boos ringing round in the away end as fans held out their arms to question the result.
Silva approached a group of fans, and seemingly departed on amicable terms, high-fiving one supporter after what seemed to be an impassioned discussion.
Hayden Hackney’s opener was enough for Michael Carrick’s side to take a lead in the first leg despite Chelsea dominating possession and having three times as many efforts on goal.
Chelsea had just five efforts of their 18 on target, with Cole Palmer missing two glorious chances – including one shot with almost an open goal to aim at just yards out.
While a few of the Blues players walked straight down the tunnel at full time, others went to clap the fans, who made their displeasure known.
Silva was first over to the away end and appeared to notice the negative reception from supporters.
He seemed to discuss something with a group near the bottom of the stand, before departing shortly after to some cheers while other fans continued to vent their frustration.
Embarrassing from the whole lot nome of them apart from Silva plays for the badge. pic.twitter.com/Q3KtSKNtf5
— Fathz (@fathz216) January 9, 2024
‘Don’t be confused because the fans were reacting to Middlesbrough fans, they were fantastic with us,’ he said. ‘Thiago and some players, they were trying to calm our fans because I think it was a problem between the fans.
https://twitter.com/thesnorky/status/1744857679346958751?t=UUk_jYcnYKku2a0vXXJRFQ&s=19
‘Be careful how you translate to the media or our fans. Don’t confuse our fans.’
