Chelsea Striker Embarrassingly Fails to Score from Close Range

Every season in any professional sport, a list of the best plays are anointed in real time on social media. Steph Curry's Paris Olympics dagger immediately earned all-time status. When the NFL regular season kicks off next month, a "best catch of the year" tally will be kept by football fans.

In soccer, there are "goal of the year" arguments. And conversely, there are "miss of the year" moments.

Unfortunately for Chelsea striker Marc Guiu, he fell into the latter category in Thursday's UEFA Conference League playoff against Servette.

No, the video and photo are not AI-altered. Guiu, an 18-year-old forward who was bought from Barcelona this summer, could not put the ball into a wide-open net from eight yards away. Instead, Guiu got his shot all wrong and sent the ball straight into the body of scrambling goalkeeper Enzo Crivelli.

Despite Guiu's ugly miss, Chelsea beat Servette 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in the first leg of a home-and-home playoff against the Swiss club from Geneva.

Guiu was the most popular topic of conversation afterward. Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca attempted to make light of Guiu's rookie mistake.

"I just told him he doesn't like easy goals. He likes difficult goals!" Maresca told reporters afterward. "It is normal. He is the youngest one in the squad. He is going to score, for sure."

Chelsea, a five-time champion of England's Premier League, has been haunted by underperforming goal scorers (at least strikers not named Didier Drogba), so much so that fans believe the club has a "No. 9 curse" for those who have severely underwhelmed while wearing the traditional striker number.

Guiu wears No. 38, but he's already the front-runner for the unflattering honor of "Miss of the Year."