Mykhailo Mudryk Scores First-Ever Chelsea Goal Against Fulham in 2-0 West London Derby Triumph
With the threat of being 13 points behind league leaders Manchester City in just seven games, Mykhailo Mudryk and the whole Chelsea squad stepped up to deliver a solid performance against Fulham at Craven Cottage. The signs were ominous for Chelsea coming into this London Derby, as The Blues were winless in six derby matches heading into tonight (D2 L4). However, after a boost of confidence in their mid-week EFL Cup win against Brighton, the Blues look rejuvenated and delivered a performance shadowing their first game of the season against Liverpool.
Mykhailo Mudryk Scores First Chelsea Goal in 21st Premier League Games
Despite distancing himself from the 007 list with Kai Havertz, Mykhailo Mudryk has struggled in front of goal for Chelsea since joining the club last year. To put into perspective, he has failed to net in the previous 20 league games for the Blues with 21 efforts on goal.
Mauricio Pochettino came forward and addressed the Ukrainian situation as a lack of confidence and reiterated in many interviews that Mykhailo Mudryk would turn the situation around. Seemingly bolstered by his manager’s belief in him, Mykhailo Mudryk started the game rapidly as he almost got an assist for himself when he fed Broja in the opening minutes.
His confident start finally paid off in the 18th minute when Colwill played a delightful clip ball towards him, and Mykhailo Mudryk deftly controlled the ball before sliding a left-footed finish through the legs of the onrushing Leno. After his first goal for Chelsea, Mykhailo Mudryk continued to run straight at Fulham’s defence and force a good save from Leno in the 27th minute. Unfortunately for the rejuvenated winger, his day ended on bad terms as Poch withdrew him at halftime after he felt something in his knee.
Mauricio Pochettino Addresses Mykhailo Mudryk’s Injury in Post-Match Statement
As the ongoing injury list in Chelsea continues to stack, it is no wonder why Chelsea fans dreaded the worst when Mauricio Pochettino withdrew Mykhailo Mudryk for Maatsen for the second half. According to the statement from the gaffer: “He felt something in his quad which we need to assess. He did not feel comfortable to keep playing. We hope it is not a big issue, we hope it is nothing big, and he can be available for Saturday.”
While it will be unfortunate if Mykhailo Mudryk joins the long list of injured players in Chelsea, Mauricio Pochettino shared his joy for the Ukrainian and Broja scoring Chelsea’s first Premier League goals since August. “For Mischa, he scored his first goal in the Premier League, and Armando, after a long period out, scored as well. I am so happy for them, as they deserve it.”
When asked about the game overall, Poch replied: “We got what we deserved. In the first half, we were much better than Fulham. In the second half, we were in control. I am so happy because the players needed this victory, and so did the fans. We now have two victories in less than one week. We needed to feel the taste of victory and another clean sheet. Now we have won two games. We need to keep calm and keep building the belief and the confidence. We have had many negative circumstances with so many players not fit, but the most important thing is belief, and the team believe in what we are doing.”
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Pochettino Calls for Patience After Chelsea Finally Wins Their 8th Game of 2023
After getting trolled by Dominos and the rest of the world for their disastrous 2023 record, Chelsea fans can start to believe they will reach ten wins in 2023 before the end of the year. Prior to this game against Fulham, Chelsea had the second-lowest shot-conversion rate in the Premier League.
To put it into context, before Mykhailo Mudryk’s opener against Fulham, Chelsea had failed to score with any of their previous 47 attempts on goal in the Premier League. It is quite a disgusting statistic for a team that spends over £1 billion to bolster their squad. To be fair to Chelsea, many of their players are young and need time to adapt.
It is what Poch tried emphasising after Mykhailo Mudryk’s performance against Fulham as he claimed: “We need to understand that young people need time and need to settle. It is about adaptation. It was a big change when Mykhailo Mudryk arrived here, and when you arrive at a team, it is not easy to settle in a team that is not solid.
“Mauricio Pochettino continued: “He was not the cherry on the cake, as they needed to add something to the team. It is about time, having patience, trusting these young, talented players, and building confidence. It is a big job, step by step. Sometimes, people do not have patience, but for us, it is about having patience. Even when we were not winning, we were calm, stayed positive, had the belief.”
