Joao Pedro makes his mark for Chelsea at Club World Cup as Blues’ attacking musical chairs continues

East Rutherford, NJ – Rare is the day that a player earns a first start for their new team in the semi-final of a competition, despite the fact that he is under a completely different club during the group phase, but leaves it to the New Look Club World Cup to shoes a new grill in the structured football calendar. However, it is even rarer that the player leaves a tangible figure in those circumstances, and while a peculiarity is offered Joao Pedro the chance to do something like that, His brace in the 2-0 victory of Chelsea on Fluminense on Tuesday was a first look at his quality In a Chelsea shirt.

Joao Pedro Wasted little time to make an impact in the game and scored in the 16th minute to lead the blues. He was in the right place at the right time when a deflection meant that the ball landed at his feet and took a few accents before he hit a curly shot from the edge of the area that fell in the top right corner of the net. Somehow his second goal was more impressive in the 56th minute – he made a long run in the box, hit a defender before he found a splits of the room and sent the ball in the back of the net. It was undoubtedly an impressive first start for him in Chelsea, one that removes him one match from his first title with his new club.

Chelsea signed the 23-year-old exactly for moments like this, where manager Enzo Maresca explained the pre-match that he regards Joao Pedro as someone who can play on the front line and one of the “four, five players who score 10, 12 goals can be each [rather] only one striker [who can] Scores 40 goals. “It is perhaps the most logical way to explain the transfer strategy of the blues, because they now literally have 20 attackers in the Roster. Maresca’s wish to have goals from multiple sources is practical, perhaps even downright necessary because they spend next season in the UEFA Champions League. To the top of the Peloton.

“We knew how [good] Joao is, in terms of [the] Player, “Maresca said after the game.” The reason why we brought him is because we have confronted with many teams this season with [a] Low block and this quality is very good against this type of team and then as a person, first of all, he comes from Brazil, so most Brazilian players are very happy. They enjoy football. “

Although his versatility has been one of his trademarks, Tuesday’s outing allowed him to demonstrate the style that makes him an entertaining watch. His two goals also showed his reach, between a slick film of the ball for the first and a compelling and clinical dash On the field that the game started for the second goal. It was a number of skills that would make him useful for each team, especially a youthful Chelsea side that believes they are building Europe’s the next best team.

It is a remarkable show for a player who started Rio de Janeiro training videos on Instagram on the day Chelsea started their club World Cup Run almost 5000 miles away in Atlanta, where they won a 2-0 win over Lafc. While the novelty of Joao Pedro in the team is the newest strange event in a club cup they defined, Maresca admitted that there was one advantage in the situation.

“I think another thing that is important about Joao is that he was on vacation, so probably a little more fresh compared to the rest,” the manager said. “So it’s something that is probably also important to be aware of it, so happy for Joao.”

He has settled well thanks to the help of his teammates, per colleague Brazilian Andrey Santos, and has so far released on the natural quality that gave him a move to Chelsea.

“I think my teammates [are] Help a lot, “said Santos.” He is great, he is smart, so I think this is important. He [is] Hard training every day, so I think it’s important, and today he showed the quality. “

On Tuesday’s performance, however, was just as much about the skill of the new signing as the circumstance. He can become a starter in Chelsea in no time, but the fact that he started against Fluminense, his former club, is the direct result of a suspension for fellow newcomer Liam Delap and injuries elsewhere. How Maresca will find exactly the balance in his bloated team is one of the most important points of intrigues in Sunday’s final, regardless of who the opposition is – the chance to win a trophy usually forces a manager to call what really is their best team, at least for the time being.

Joao Pedro will actually have to build an oeuvre to prove that he is able to justify transfer costs to Brighton and Hove Albion of around $ 75 million. Maresca can plan a minimum for a season of 10 goals for someone like him, and although he delivered exactly that for Brighton last season, five of them were punished and his expected goals per 90 are fewer than two people who are already in Chelsea’s books. Nicolas Jackson And Noni Madueke, of whom the latter is probably on its way. Whether he can maximize his talents with the blues – and if the inexperienced Maresca can get the best out of him – is the big question, but in what a game of musical seats seems to be to be the next great goal scorer of Chelsea, Joao Pedro, Joao Pedro, is very very an active participant.

“This is exactly the way he showed [Tuesday]”Said Maresca.” Does not mean that he will be the case all season, because it will not happen, but it is good to have him and also as an option. “