Chelsea beat Middlesbrough emphatically in the Carabao Cup last night, but Craig Burley was not impressed with everyone.
Chelsea won the game 6-1 to book their ticket to Wembley for the final of the competition, and Mykhailo Mudryk was one player who helped the team to victory after being named in Mauricio Pochettino‘s starting XI.
However, speaking on ESPN FC after the match, Craig Burley said he still does not trust the winger.
Mudryk was actually taken off at half-time after getting booked, with Pochettino not wanting to take any risks, so it was not his best game.
Nevertheless, Chelsea still managed to get the job done in convincing fashion.
Craig Burley does not trust Mykhailo Mudryk
Mudryk did nothing to convince Burley that he should be a regular starter at Stamford Bridge.
When asked if Pochettino should stick with the first XI he used last night, Burley replied: “I don’t trust Mudryk at all. I think what he does a lot of times is a head-scratcher. He wants to do everything at 100 miles an hour, so I don’t really trust that.”
Mykhailo Mudryk still quite raw
It is not hard to understand why Burley does not fully trust Mudryk. The 23-year-old is still very much a rough diamond.
His end product is not always there, though it is an area of his game that has improved this season.
While Mudryk failed to score a single goal for Chelsea last term, he has four in the current campaign.
The Blues need much more than that from a forward who cost them £89m (BBC Sport), though. Because of that price tag, until Mudryk’s productivity goes up, you can expect more criticism from pundits such as Burley.
The former Shakhtar Donetsk man will have another chance to score his fifth goal of the season on Friday when Chelsea take on Aston Villa in the FA Cup.
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