Mauricio Pochettino hails Mykhailo Mudryk’s performance in Chelsea’s draw at Bournemouth

Chelsea continued their sluggish start to the season on Sunday, leaving the club with just one win in five Premier League games under the Argentine manager Mauricio Pochettino. The Blues boss was unhappy with his full-backs after the game but his forwards must also share some blame, with Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Jackson missing a whole host of good chances.

That said, Mykhailo Mudryk fared better than most of his teammates, particularly in the opening 30 minutes where he created several great opportunities, and he continued to show flashes of brilliance before getting subbed off for Cole Palmer just after the hour mark.

Much was expected of the Ukraine winger after joining Chelsea in January in a deal worth up to £89million, but his time at Stamford Bridge has so far been pretty disastraous. The 22-year-old is yet to score for the club, and has provided just two assists in 21 appearances, and has never appeared to earn the trust of his managers, namely Graham Potter, Frank Lampard and Pochettino.

Mykhailo Mudryk’s Performance

Just nine of his 21 appearances have been starts, with the Bournemouth clash his first time in the starting XI under Pochettino, but perhaps that is beginning to change.

‘He [Mudryk] is improving,’ his manager told Sky Sports post-match. ‘He still needs to learn in the Premier League, it’s very fast. He needs to understand the game better, try to be more connected sometimes with the team. We need to give the time and tools for him to improve during the season.’

Mudryk’s next chance to impress will be against Aston Villa and he’ll be hoping to help the Blues move up the table from their current position of 14th.

‘I cannot say that I am happy but it was a very competitive game,’ Pochettino added. ‘I think we deserved more, we deserved to win. We created good chances and in the first half after 20, 30 minutes, we created many chances and didn’t score.

‘We need to be tough in the way that we are trying. We need to prove our efficiency in front of goal. We need to be calm also but these circumstances are not always easy for the players. We cannot blame anyone.’

Conclusion

Mauricio Pochettino has praised Mykhailo Mudryk’s performance in Chelsea’s draw at Bournemouth on Sunday. The 22-year-old Ukraine winger has had a difficult start to life at Stamford Bridge since joining in January but he showed flashes of brilliance against Bournemouth and Pochettino believes he can improve with more time and tools.

Mudryk will have another chance to impress when Chelsea take on Aston Villa and he’ll be hoping to help the Blues move up the table from their current position of 14th.