Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino thinks Noni Madueke proved in last night’s display that he’s not happy with him right now.
Noni Madueke, 21, has really struggled for minutes in the first half of the season.
The £29million winger (Sky Sports) has been a victim of team selection and injury in recent months, which must be a huge source of frustration for the player. He’s actually only played 10 club matches across all competitions so far this term.
However, Madueke made a great statement in Wednesday night’s 2-1 win for Chelsea at home to Crystal Palace.
The English attacker came off the bench and scored an 89th minute penalty to earn the Blues three points in the Premier League.
Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino shared an interesting verdict on Madueke in his post-match interview.
He thinks that the 21-year-old’s great impact off the bench was an indicator that the player is frustrated about his lack of minutes so far this campaign.
Pochettino said via Football.London: “He played free. The difference is he did what we needed in this moment. Go to play and I like it showed that he was upset with me and disappointed with me because he didn’t play too much, also because of his injury. But he thinks yes, now I’m going to show the coach that I can trust in myself.”
Noni Madueke isn’t happy with Mauricio Pochettino
We really loved Madueke’s personality when coming off the bench against Palace, winning his side a spot-kick before calmly converting it himself.
The 21-year-old surely has to be in the conversation to play in this weekend’s league trip to Luton Town, the club’s final match of a turbulent 2023.
Speaking via his Instagram story last night, Blues vice-captain Ben Chilwell praised Madueke for his match-winning contribution against Palace.
We’re desperate to see more from Madueke in the games ahead! Will Pochettino share that same enthusiasm, though?
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