Mauricio Pochettino throws his weight behind struggling Mykhalo Mudryk
Speaking in the post-match press conference as quoted by popular Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has thrown his weight behind the struggling Ukrainian winger Mykhalo Mudryk and expects him to come good for the club with time.
Mudryk has been somewhat of a disappointment ever since he signed for the club back in January. For all his obvious talent and potential, the winger has failed to make an impact on the pitch and has copped widespread criticism mainly due to the expectations placed on him during the time of his signing.
Chelsea slumped to yet another draw against Bournemouth today, with the game ending 0-0. As good as they look, the Blues are struggling to create clear-cut chances and are really unable to find the back of the net. This does not mean that they are not playing impressive football though but the end product is lacking.
The Blues came so close to opening the scoring on so many occasions today and even had the back of the net bulge once only for Levi Colwill to be called offside. Raheem Sterling was extremely unlucky to not score after he saw his sumptuous free-kick hit the underside of the crossbar, bounce on the line and come out. It was literally a matter of inches.
Mudryk who was handed a start by Pochettino today had a great start to the game with a very lively first 10 minutes but slowly fizzled out. Despite a number of impressive runs and touches, it seemed very clear that the confidence was missing from his game and he was eventually hooked off for Cole Palmer.
Speaking about the situation of the Ukrainian, Pochettino was quick to throw his weight behind Mudryk and claimed that it was only a matter of time before he comes good
“He is improving. He still needs to learn, he needs time.. Mudryk needs to understand the game better — and try to be more connected sometimes with the team. We need to give the time and tools for him to improve”
When one sees Mykhalo Mudryk play, we can understand the hype that he comes with. However, he has not yet adapted to the English league as one might have hoped. We must be patient with how we handle the talented player and must not give up on him yet.
Pochettino’s team provides the perfect tactical set-up for someone like Mudryk to thrive. The left wing does not have much competition with Raheem Sterling clearly being preferred on the right. Cole Palmer also prefers playing on the right and so does Noni Madueke.
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There is no doubt that Mudryk is going to receive a lot of game time. How he handles it and if he is able to showcase his ability might go a long way in shaping his Chelsea future. Let’s see how it goes.