Mudryk silences critics and sends Sterling message

Carlo Garganese

• 12 Mar 2024 12:30 GMT
• 3 min read

Mykhailo Mudryk has sent a reminder of his ability to Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino and put pressure on underperforming winger Raheem Sterling.

Mudryk came off the bench during Chelsea’s 3-2 win over Newcastle on Monday and scored a fantastic individual goal, dribbling past a defender and the goalkeeper before slotting home.

That goal took Mudryk’s tally in a Chelsea shirt to four goals and two assists from nine starts and 908 minutes of Premier League football this season.

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That’s compared to the player he replaced, Sterling, who has six goals and three assists from 21 starts and 1819 minutes.

This, despite such heavy criticism, Mudryk’s output is not far inferior to that of Sterling despite playing well under half the number of minutes this season.

Mudryk joined Chelsea for €100 million in January 2023 from Shakhtar Donetsk after the Blues hijacked Arsenal's deal for the winger.

However, the consensus is that Mudryk has flopped badly at Stamford Bridge.

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Mudryk has fallen down the pecking order at Chelsea due to his showings and even considered leaving the club during the January transfer market.

Pochettino criticism

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has criticised Mudryk publicly on a number of occasions in recent months and in January said that the Ukrainian was not playing for the team, comparing him to a tennis player.

"Now he is on the bench. It’s about the form – if you keep your form and you are the best during every training session, [you will play],” Pochettino said.

"It's about meritocracy. He has amazing quality and potential, but it’s a team game, it’s not tennis.”

Mudryk’s performance against Newcastle will certainly have helped in changing Pochettino’s view on who deserves to play for Chelsea.