“I Thought It Went In!” – Liam Delap Reflects on Horror Miss for Chelsea Against Hull Despite Assist Hat-Trick

There are nights in football when a striker walks off the pitch with three assists and still feels like he owes the game something. Friday at the MKM Stadium was exactly that kind of evening for Liam Delap.

Chelsea advanced comfortably into the fifth round of the FA Cup with an emphatic win over Hull City, powered by a Pedro Neto hat-trick and a goal from Estevao. On paper, it was routine. In reality, it was a match that will be remembered as much for Delap’s astonishing miss as for his creative redemption.

Because for a few surreal seconds in the first half, the young striker was celebrating a goal that never was.

“I Thought It Went In!” – Liam Delap’s Horror Miss Against Hull

The moment unfolded in chaotic fashion. Hull goalkeeper Dillon Phillips attempted to clear his lines under pressure, only for Delap to block the effort. The ball ricocheted goalward, looping awkwardly toward the net. From Delap’s perspective, it seemed inevitable.

He wheeled away, convinced he had given Chelsea the lead.

But instead of rippling the net, the ball struck the underside of the crossbar and bounced out — not over the line, not even close enough to trigger a goal-line review drama. It stayed alive.

Delap, momentarily caught between celebration and reality, scrambled back toward the loose ball. He did manage to gather it, but his hurried follow-up effort was blocked by Phillips, who recovered quickly to deny him.

After the match, Delap admitted what everyone suspected.

“I swear on my life, I almost ran off,” he told TNT Sports. “I thought it went in. Obviously I was waiting for the ref to blow his whistle. I should have put it in a second time, but it was crazy. Silly from me, but I thought it went in.”

It was an honest confession. No excuses. Just the split-second misjudgment that strikers sometimes make when instinct overrides certainty.

Chelsea Cruise Despite Liam Delap Miss Against Hull

Fortunately for Delap, Chelsea did not need that goal to survive.

Once the dust settled, the visitors asserted control. Pedro Neto was electric, punishing Hull with a clinical hat-trick that underlined his growing influence in this side. Estevao added another, and the tie gradually slipped beyond the Championship outfit’s reach.

Yet even in victory, Delap’s season-long struggle in front of goal lingered in the background. He has now scored just twice in 23 appearances for Chelsea this campaign and has gone nine matches without finding the net.

For a No.9 at a club of Chelsea’s ambition, that statistic draws attention.

And it certainly drew commentary from Alan Shearer.

Criticism and Recovery: A Night of Two Halves for Delap

Watching on for BBC Sport, Shearer did not mince words when assessing the miss.

“Goodness me. What is Delap doing?” the former Premier League record scorer remarked. “It is as if he is thinking, ‘I have all the time in the world.’ He ambles to it and he takes his time. What are you waiting for?”

Shearer went further, suggesting that Delap’s overall start to the game lacked sharpness. He pointed to misplaced passes and the glaring opportunity squandered, describing the striker’s early display as poor.

It was harsh, perhaps, but not entirely unfair. Top-level football rarely offers sympathy for hesitation.

Yet what made the night compelling was what happened next.

Instead of shrinking into frustration, Delap responded. He became increasingly involved in Chelsea’s attacking movements, linking play intelligently and pressing aggressively from the front. By full-time, he had registered three assists — a hat-trick of contributions that directly influenced the outcome.

Shearer himself acknowledged the turnaround.

“Delap recovered well from that start and has been instrumental in the win,” he later added. “He deserves a lot of credit for that.”

In many ways, that arc — from embarrassment to influence — told a deeper story about the striker’s character.

Liam Rosenior Praises Delap’s All-Round Contribution

Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior was quick to highlight the bigger picture.

For Rosenior, the modern No.9 must offer more than goals. In his tactical framework, the striker initiates the press, creates space through sacrificial runs, and brings others into play. Delap, despite the miss, fulfilled those demands.

“To be a No.9, especially in the system that we play, it’s not always about yourself,” Rosenior explained. “It’s about bringing other people into play. Sometimes making sacrifice runs so other players get space.”

He praised Delap’s role in launching the team’s press and emphasized the collective strength of the squad’s performance. From player one to player fifteen, Rosenior felt the display embodied professionalism and discipline.

It was not simply about attacking flair. It was about application.

And in that respect, Delap passed the test.

The Mental Side of a Striker’s Game

Forwards live on fine margins. A fraction of a second can define a narrative. Had Delap ensured the ball crossed the line before celebrating, the conversation would be entirely different.

Instead, the clip will circulate. It will feature in highlight reels and social media compilations. Such is the modern reality.

But perhaps more telling was how he handled it.

There was no visible sulking, no drop in intensity. He continued pressing, demanding the ball, driving into channels. That resilience may ultimately matter more than a single goal.

Confidence for strikers can be fragile. A run of nine games without scoring weighs heavily. Yet assisting three goals in a knockout competition might offer a different kind of boost — one rooted not just in finishing, but in contribution.

Chelsea’s Broader Momentum

Beyond Delap’s personal narrative, the result reinforces Chelsea’s growing rhythm under Rosenior. The team’s pressing intensity, work rate, and tactical cohesion impressed their manager.

He described the performance as professional against a Hull side pushing for Premier League promotion. This was not, in his words, an easy fixture.

Now Chelsea await the FA Cup fifth-round draw, while domestic attention turns back to the Premier League and an upcoming clash with Burnley.

The schedule offers little pause for reflection.

What Comes Next for Liam Delap?

The central question is whether Delap can convert creative influence into scoring consistency.

The movement is there. The work rate is evident. The tactical understanding appears to be developing. But strikers are ultimately judged by goals.

Friday’s miss will sting. It should. Yet the assist hat-trick proves he remains integral to Chelsea’s attacking structure.

Football has a way of offering immediate redemption. Perhaps the next clear-cut chance will not be accompanied by premature celebration.

For now, Delap can at least smile at the absurdity of the moment.

“I thought it went in,” he said.

For a heartbeat, so did everyone else.