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Chelsea legend Pat Nevin has insisted that he did not want to see Ross Barkley take the Blues' penalty against Valencia on Tuesday night.

The Blues suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Valencia and got their Champions League campaign off to the worst possible start.







Chelsea had an opportunity to score a late equaliser when they were awarded a penalty and Barkley stepped up to take the spot-kick after a mini-argument with Willian and Jorginho.

But the Englishman fluffed his lines and Valencia escaped Stamford Bridge will all three points from the opening game.





Lampard later defended Barkley taking the penalty kick, but Nevin insisted that he was never in favour of the midfielder stepping up to take such a crucial spot-kick.







He believes the England international was not ready to take up such a pressure penalty kick as he had just come on from the bench.

The Chelsea legend believes Jorginho is the best penalty taker in the current Chelsea squad and should have been allowed to do the honours on Tuesday night as well.



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Nevin said on Chelsea TV after the match: “I said in the commentary, I don't really want Ross taking the penalty.

“Simple reason. Ross is a good penalty kick taker, but he's just on the pitch.

“Now, if you're just on the pitch, it doesn't mean you can't take a penalty, but if you know the pace of the game, you're up to speed and you're comfortable with it all then it's that little bit easier.

“I just happen to love Jorginho's penalty kicks.

"I've watched him taking them for years before he came to Chelsea, and he's missed one during a football match in his career and he scored from the rebound.

“Yes, there was the one against Manchester City in the EFL Cup, the 'keeper saved that, but his penalty kicks are absolutely extraordinary."

Nevin believes that if not for Eden Hazard then Jorginho would already be established as Chelsea's penalty taker and the fans would love the midfielder's spot-kicks.

“Had Eden Hazard not been taking the penalty kicks for us with the extraordinary ones he had been taking, I think we'd have seen a lot more of Jorginho's last season, and we'd be in love with them by now.”

Chelsea have back-to-back away games at Lille and Ajax next in their Champions League group as they look to get off the mark.

