Mykhailo Mudryk is slowly regaining his confidence and addressing the flaws in his game will be key to his long-term success.
Under personal and collective pressure, the 23-year-old winger scored again in the 3-2 FA Cup win over Leeds in midweek. The Ukrainian produced a perfect volley for coach Mauricio Pochettino to buy him more time and reach the cup quarter-finals against Leicester this month.
Mudryk stepped in when needed, but February was a tricky month.
As one of Chelsea’s most beloved new signings (he joined thirteen months ago on an £88m contract with Shakhtar Donetsk), the organisation’s side described it as “multi-billion pound bottleworks” via Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville after last Sunday’s Carabao Cup final defeat.
Mudryk was arguably one of the biggest culprits in the result, with just 10 touches of the ball and failing to make any stoppage time as Liverpool’s academy players ruled that Chelsea regained control of the game and won 1-0. Prior to the defeat at Wembley, Mudryk was an unused substitute in Chelsea’s three immediate outings.
In this context, a start against Leeds was not a given, but after being chosen to play the number 10 role, he tried his luck. His quick runs, wise passes, and impressive shots were part of a wonderful performance in the first. middle.
He moved down the left wing in the second half to serve as an outlet on the counter-attack against a resurgent Leeds. There was a moment at the start of the second half when Mudryk tried to claim an over-the-top pass from Robert Sanchez, but it almost fell into the billboards. , only for Pochettino to block his fall.
Pochettino has a genuine affection for Mudryk, which makes him his project. The Argentine brought him out of his shell, made him smile more and helped him build relationships in the dressing room. But he also complained when necessary.
“It’s a skill, but he has to understand that he has to play football, and football is a team sport; you have to put your skill at the service of the team,” Pochettino said. “At this level, you have to work with Y without the ball. “
Mudryk’s disorders are inexperience. He made just 73 senior appearances before joining Chelsea under the Arsenal nose, with Mikel Arteta pushing for his transfer. Saturday’s warring parties, Brentford, also saw a record £26 million offer rejected six months earlier, while Brighton, which also has an impressive scouting system, also looked like it.
But his nickname “Ukrainian Neymar” at home took a toll on him. At Shakhtar he had to protect himself a bit; In the Premier League, each and every player must have compatibility in the formula and help build attacks, protect well, and protect well tactically and technically. The inability to do so is the main thing that has caused Mudryk to finish only two full 90s. minutes in 44 games and you want to be briefed on the ugly, tactical sides of the game if you want to get the minutes you want.
For Brentford, losing Ben to a potential season-ending injury increases the need for Nathan Collins to recover.
Collins has struggled to adapt since his £23m transfer from Wolves and only Sheffield United goalkeeper Wes Foderingham has made more of his four individual blunders that saw him reach league targets this season.
But the 22-year-old is expected to line up in a makeshift trio alongside Kristoffer Ajer and Mathias Jorgensen, and he wants to start explaining why Thomas Frank was so keen to sign him.
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