Chelsea news – Mauricio Pochettino has been sent a clear message on Mykhailo Mudryk, Ben Chilwell and Nicolas Jackson after the goalless draw against Bournemouth
Mykhailo Mudryk struggled to impress Mauricio Pochettino in his starting appearance against Bournemouth (Image: (Photo by Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images))
Mauricio Pochettino has been questioned for his Mykhailo Mudryk decision by Paul Merson with a surprising Chelsea claim also made on Nicolas Jackson. The duo both started the goalless draw against Bournemouth with neither able to provide a lasting impression in attack, despite nearly combining to score an early goal.
The Blues showed some glimpses of the impressive phases of play seen in pre-season with Mudryk and Jackson nearly replicating a superb goal scored against Brighton, this past weekend. While it was Mudryk who found the back of the net prior to the season starting, it was Jackson this time. However, he struck the post after the pair pulled together a delightful one-touch move.
Other than that, no real threat was provided to Neto’s goal by either, with Mudryk replaced just after the 60-minute mark by Cole Palmer. The Ukraine international started the game in place of Ben Chilwell, with the England international handed a spot on the bench before he came on with 10 minutes to play, a decision that Merson did not agree with.
“I didn’t get Mykhailo Mudryk starting against Bournemouth,” he wrote in his Sky Sports column. “I didn’t get Ben Chilwell not starting – for me you’ve got to go for him in my opinion.” The majority of supporters have been left aggrieved by seeing Chilwell played in an advanced role and it finally looked as though Pochettino had chosen to unleash one of the many attackers at his disposal which would also see Levi Colwill not forced to play at left-back.
However, while Mudryk was preferred to Chilwell, Colwill was still deployed out of his usual position. Merson continued his assessment of the Chelsea team with his comments on Jackson perhaps coming across as quite surprising, given the struggles he has endured since his transfer to Chelsea, however there is actually a lot of truth in his words.
“I like Nicolas Jackson, actually,” Merson admitted. “He makes good runs but there was one shot that summed it up in the second half where he hit the stand, which was fortunate as that’s how wide it was.
“There’s a lot of pressure for a young lad who was playing in Spain and now is spearheading a team who is expected to win football matches because of the money they spent. I don’t think it’s fair on him, so I’d definitely give him more time. Though Pochettino would take him out of the firing line if he could.”
Jackson enjoyed a superb purple patch of form for Villareal in the latter stages of the 2022/23 season, but it is clear to see he is still quite raw. The absence of Christopher Nkunku and Armando Broja has also made things far more difficult for the 22-year-old, with the pressure significantly on his shoulders to find the back of the net consistently.
Soucre: football.london
