Shearer slams Fabregas "Pathetic" defending

Alan Shearer has criticised Cesc Fabregas for his "pathetic"
defending during Chelsea's FA Cup clash with MK Dons.
The Blues midfielder was beaten to the ball by Dean
Lewington in the build-up to the hosts' equaliser, with
Darren Potter's deflected effort looping over a helpless
Thibaut Courtois after Fabregas had lost the initial challenge.

And Shearer was far from impressed with Fabregas's role in
Guus Hiddink's side conceding the goal, telling BBC Sport :

"No, it [Fabregas failing to win the ball from Lewington] isn't
great defending at all and that's being polite.

"I'm sorry, the challenge from Fabregas, or the lack of it. I
don't care who you are. That's pathetic. You're 1-0 up and
you're trying to protect it and you've got a 50/50 ball and
you pull out of it there.

Shearer continued to lambast the Spaniard, suggesting that
the former Barcelona midfielder pulled out of a tackle and
indicating his belief that Fabregas' role as a playmaker does
not absolve him of tackling duty.

"There's no excuse for a professional footballer," the
Newcaslte United legend continued.

"I don't care whether you're good at tackling, bad at tackling.

You cannot pull out. That is actually pathetic. Lewington's
got 10 yards to travel to that ball and Fabregas has got
three yards. I don't like that."

Fabregas had come in for criticism from some quarters for
his performances at the beginning of the season, as Chelsea
slumped to the bottom half of the table and Jose Mourinho
was eventually sacked, leading to boos from the Stamford
Bridge faithful in the first home game following the
Portuguese coach's departure, against Sunderland.

In a strange season for the former Arsenal man, Fabregas
was also involved in a dispute with a steward, in which the
Stamford Bridge employee called the Chelsea player a
"snake", later losing his job because of the outburts.