Players handing out their shirts to fans in the crowd has long been a post-match tradition in football, but Enzo Fernandez has taken that to a whole new level.
Chelsea came back from 1-0 down to beat West Ham 2-1 on Monday at Stamford Bridge, Pedro Neto equalising after Jarrod Bowen‘s first-half opener, before an Aaron Wan-Bissaka own goal sealed victory.
The win sent the Blues back into the top four following Chelsea’s second league win since mid-December.
Yet while the likes of Cole Palmer were unsurprisingly inundated with requests for their shirts, Fernandez walked towards a group of supporters before catching most viewers by surprise by stopping to take off his shorts.
The Argentinian World Cup winner then jogged over to the stands before throwing his now-discarded shorts towards a fan and making his way back to the dressing-room in just his underwear and shirt.
Perhaps taken aback by the surprise gift, the fan then turned to his fellow supporters and jokingly sniffed his new piece of kit, before posing for a selfie.
Enzo Fernandez made the bizarre decision to throw his shorts into the crowd after beating West Ham
A Blues supporter was then seen sniffing the piece of kit after it was thrown into the fans
The World Cup winner stripped down to his shorts after full-time with Chelsea moving back into the top four
‘There were quite a few people after Cole Palmer’s shorts at the end, but what happened then, some lucky fan got Enzo’s shorts,’ said Sky Sports host David Jones as footage of the incident played out on broadcast.
As the fan lifts them to his nose a very surprised Jamie Carragher then let out a ‘Whoa!’ as he laughed at what he was seeing alongside Blues legend Gianfranco Zola, who was also in the studio.
‘Get them straight in the washing machine on a hot wash,’ Jones joked, before posing the question to Zola.
‘Did you ever throw your shorts away to the crowd, Gianfranco?’
Unsurprisingly, The Italian legend then replied: ‘No.’
After struggling to live up to his hefty £107million fee with the Blues, Fernandez had looked to have hit a purple patch that coincided with Chelsea’s own run of results up until mid-December.
However, against Man City last week, he came in for stern criticism from Gary Neville, who questioned the 24-year-old’s ability to take control of a game and recognise profitable circumstances on the pitch, along with some of his team-mates.
Chelsea raced into a 1-0 lead over Manchester City, Noni Madueke profiting from an error from new signing Abdukodir Khusanov
Pedro Neto equalised for the Blues after Jarrod Bowen’s opener just before the interval
‘They could have gone 2-0 up, but I mentioned players being programmed like robots. If you concede, score, if you can see another team is vulnerable or sense a nervousness in the ground, you have to be able to adapt,’ he began on The Gary Neville Podcast.
‘There is some experience out there. (Moises) Caicedo, (Enzo) Fernandez I’m looking at in particular and even Cole Palmer now, what he’s done in the last 18 months. Reece James.
‘I’m looking at those four in particular thinking, “You must have sensed that at that point in the game, the kid at right centre back, (Matheus) Nunes at right back, the midfield that can’t really run, you had to go for the jugular”.
‘I said it at the time, and they missed a real opportunity because they were programmed before the game to play a certain way. They couldn’t switch to go full press. The game had changed. I feel like I would have smelt that at United if I was there.’
Fernandez and Co will next be in action on Saturday when they travel to the South Coast to face Brighton in the FA Cup fourth round, before the exact same fixture the following Friday.
