The Ukrainian is one of the most expensive transfers of the London club
“It’s part of evolution and development. Players sometimes need to feel the pain of not playing.” – so in charge Chelsea coach Mauricio Pochettino explained relatively recently absence from the Blues starting line-up in matches against Aston Villa in the FA Cup (3:1) and Crystal Palace in the championship (3:1) Mikhail Mudrik. We don’t question the coaching skills, methods and experience of the Argentine specialist, but it seems In relation to the Ukrainian midfielder, he goes too far. Let’s try to figure it out.
In 28 matches for Chelsea this season, Ukraine winger Mikhail Mudrika scored five goals and provided three assists. The Ukrainian scored 3+3 in 20 Premier League matches, scored a goal each in the FA Cup (3 matches) and the League Cup (5 matches). It took Mudryk 1,223 minutes to make eight effective actions – an average of 152 minutes per point scored. If we take only goals scored, then it took Mikhail an average of 244.6 minutes to score one goal.
If you compare Mudryk’s performance at Chelsea with Mikhail’s performance at Shakhtar, the decline is obvious. In 44 matches for Gornyaki, the winger scored 12 goals and provided 17 assists. All this in 2,431 minutes of game time. On average, it took Mudryk 83.8 minutes per effective action, and 202.5 minutes per goal. But there is one point that is worth paying attention to, which, in fact, is what one of the popular fan publics did.
As it turned out, Pochettino benched Mudryk for the next match after each goal of the Ukrainian. Now the chronology. On October 2 last year, Mudryk, starting in the match with Fulham, scored his first goal in the championship of the 2023/2024 season, opening the scoring in the match, which Chelsea won 2:0. In the next round game against Burnley, five days later, Mudryk remained on the bench, appearing on the field in the 83rd minute.
On October 21, Mudrik started the championship match with Chelsea and scored the Blues’ second goal of the match, leaving the field in the 66th minute. Without Mudryk, Chelsea conceded twice and the match ended in a draw. In the next round, the Ukrainian was not included in the squad for the match with Brentford. Pochettio explained this fact by the damage the Ukrainian received in the match with the Gunners.
On December 19, Mudryk scored his fourth goal of the season, scoring in the League Cup quarter-final match with Newcastle, appearing on the field in the 78th minute, equalizing the score in the 90+2 minute, and then converting the decisive penalty in the series. On December 24, in the match with Wolverhampton, the Ukrainian remained on the bench, appearing on the field in the 59th minute.
On December 27, in the Premier League championship, in a match with Crystal Palace, Mudrik started, scoring in the 13th minute, and Chelsea won 2:1. On December 30, Mudryk played the away match against Luton as a reserve.
On 28 February 2024, in the FA Cup round of 16 match against Leeds, Mudryk started for Chelsea, scoring his fifth goal of the season in a 1-1 draw. Chelsea won 3:2. On March 2, the Ukrainian started the match against Brentford in the championship on the bench, eventually playing 19 minutes.
“I can tell you that for me Mudrik is the most talented and unique player in the world. I believe that in order to get the most out of Mudrik, as they expect, you need to invest in him. And these investments are not money,” said Shakhtar CEO Sergei Palkin. It appears Pochettino either doesn’t have the time or the inclination to invest in one of Chelsea’s most expensive investments.
Source: Sportarena
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
