I saw ‘frustrating’ Chelsea player deliver the ultimate game of two halves in Carabao Cup victory against Barrow

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Chelsea turned on the style to breeze past Barrow in the Carabao Cup last night, but for one player it was very much a tale of two halves.

The Blues are in the draw for the Carabao Cup fourth round after beating League Two side Barrow 5-0 at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening.

Christopher Nkunku stole the headlines with an excellent hat-trick for the hosts. On top of that, there was a Paul Farman own goal and a first Chelsea strike from Pedro Neto.

Enzo Maresca made 11 changes to the starting line-up to highlight the strength in depth at his disposal. Next, his side are back in Premier League action when they host Brighton at the weekend.

Maresca was still angry with some players for their pressing against Barrow, which goes to show the high standards that the Chelsea head coach is demanding.

• READ MORE: Many Chelsea fans are saying the same thing about Joao Felix after his display against Barrow

Mykhailo Mudryk has game of two halves

We closely watched Chelsea’s emphatic victory over Barrow in midweek. In particular, the performance of Mykhailo Mudryk really caught the eye across the full 90 minutes.

It was a big opportunity for the 23-year-old attacker to impress on his return to the side because he’s been an unused substitute in the previous two league matches.

The best way to describe his contribution versus Barrow is a tale of two halves.

First of all, Mudryk’s display in the opening 45 minutes felt very flat and uninspiring. While many teammates around him were purring, the left-winger was too safe in possession by regularly turning backwards and not taking on his full-back.

Thankfully, the Ukraine international came out in the second half with so much more enthusiasm and directness in his play.

Mudryk assisted Neto’s goal with a selfless and perfectly weighted pass across goal. On top of that, he showed so much more bravery in possession with more dribbles, crosses and overall intent.

Speaking via talkSPORT last season, Carlton Cole described Mudryk as a “frustrating” player. His performance this week epitomised why he regularly leaves people baffled when they watch him in action because you never know what you’re going to get from him.

Mykhailo Mudryk stats against Barrow

FotMob data has provided the individual statistics from Mudryk’s cup performance in the win over Barrow.

• Match rating – 8.0
• Minutes played – 90
• Assists – 1
• Total shots – 1
• Successful dribbles – 2/4 (50%)
• Touches in opposition box – 4
• Touches – 49
• Accurate passes – 25/33 (76%)
• Chances created – 2
• Accurate crosses – 0/4 (0%)
• Tackles won – 2/2 (100%)

Chelsea supporters have known since Mudryk arrived over 18 months ago that he’s an extremely rough diamond, but more questions are being asked of him due to the increase in competition this season.

If Mudryk wants to play regularly under Maresca, we think he’ll need a lot more cameos like his second half against Barrow rather than the frustrating first-half effort.