Chelsea’s suffered another disappointing defeat against Aston Villa on Sunday but one of the few positives was the performance of Mykhailo Mudryk.
The Ukrainian international was given his second consecutive start by Mauricio Pochettino and he validated the manager’s decision with a good display. Fans on Twitter criticised many of Mudryk‘s teammates but they were quick to point out that the winger played one of his best games for the Blues since he arrived back in January:
Robbed off 2 assists yesterday
— Pharist Beekoo 🇲🇺 (@Pharist11) September 25, 2023
You can’t fault Mudryk. He showed heart yesterday, but what I did not understand was the subbing of Enzo and Caicedo while leaving Gallagher and Sterling
— Blues Republic (@bluesrepublic) September 25, 2023
Mudryk played well yesterday
— नबिन किशोर (@NabinKishor1) September 25, 2023
Mudryk has outperformed Sterling since he started starting games… nobody denying Mudryk is raw but Sterling looks worse than him
— Ragnarsson 🇿🇦 🇵🇸 (@Cfc_Ayanda) September 25, 2023
Mudryk a scapegoat – he’s actually been one of the better ones lately
— ®️eece (@MaccR98) September 25, 2023
Yesterday was Mudryk’s best game at Chelsea. We need to be patient. Pochettino will make this team work. Once they start scoring, the goals will come. We have top 5 defence and top possession %. @ChelseaFC will rise again.
— Andres Rubio (@AndresRubioAbad) September 25, 2023
Mudryk was one of the few bright lights
The 22-year-old’s display was by no means outstanding at the weekend but there was certainly cause for optimism in how he performed before he was substituted midway through the second half.
Mudryk’s sublime reverse pass to put Nicolas Jackson in on goal was a particular highlight. Unfortunately, the Senegalese international could not convert the opportunity.
There were also a number of other moments where Mudryk put in some dangerous crosses which his teammates could have done better with. Malo Gusto’s red card, however, ended his afternoon, as Pochettino brought him off to shore up the backline.
The Chelsea winger is building his confidence
Fans and pundits alike have said that Mudryk needed to get a few starts under his belt in order to get the best out of him and it appears that belief was justified.
It will be hoped that Pochettino keeps faith with the Ukrainian and he gets another opportunity to shine when the Blues take on Brighton in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
