Competition for places at a side in the Premier League is perhaps no fiercer than at Chelsea right now.
Enzo Maresca was able to change his whole side for the Carabao Cup tie against Barrow this week, however they were still an outfit that could go head-to-head with top sides.
Those players were certainly not resting on their laurels too. Christopher Nkunku’s hat-trick put more pressure on Maresca to hand him a start soon.
- READ MORE: Christopher Nkunku shares what he told Malo Gusto to do vs Barrow that worked out perfectly
All four of the starting attackers that night contributed to a goal, with them looking to all make a statement to the manager.
Pedro Neto scored his first for the club, with him so far struggling for starts behind the impressive Noni Madueke since his £54m move from Wolves over the summer.
Pedro Neto knew he’d play for Chelsea less than Wolves
Neto admitted he had not been at his best yet since his move to Chelsea, although will hope his first goal in Blue will give him the platform to kick on now.
With him being a crucial player at his former side, the Portuguese winger has admitted he knew it would be harder to make himself as important at Stamford Bridge.
He said to journalist Kieran Gill: “In Wolverhampton, I was going to play maybe 90 per cent of the games. Here I have to work. It makes you play even better. With the quality we have, no one can sleep. It’s the mentality that I hope can take us to the top.”
Competition for places at Chelsea
With the magnitude of fixtures that are to come in a variety of competitions for the Blues, the boss will need everyone firing in order to keep up what has been a strong start to the season.
The likelihood though is that the players who missed the midweek game against Barrow will return to the starting side, meaning it could be another performance from the bench for Neto this weekend against Brighton.
However, continuing to perform at higher levels every game will end up giving Maresca a very difficult decision when it comes to the right wing.
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