Noni Madueke has praised one Chelsea teammate on Instagram after this week’s performance in Europe.
Chelsea beat Gent 4-2 at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night to collect three points in the Conference League group stages.
It says a lot about the depth of the Blues squad that Enzo Maresca can make 11 changes against Gent and still watch his side put on a really encouraging display.
Carney Chukwuemeka missed the Gent match through illness, but plenty of fringe players managed to impress and make a great case for themselves to play more.
Noni Madueke hails Benoit Badiashile
Chelsea winger Noni Madueke, who was an unused substitute versus Gent, has praised Benoit Badiashile for his display in the Conference League.
Badiashile, 23, came into the Blues XI yesterday and got some valuable minutes in defence. The left-footed centre-half is currently in the second string, and it seems like he’s the understudy to Levi Colwill this season.
Badiashile uploaded a post on Instagram to celebrate Chelsea’s victory, which received responses in the comment section from teammates such as Madueke and Colwill.
Benoit Badiashile display
We thought Badiashile had a couple of dodgy moments on the ball in Chelsea’s success against Gent. It was certainly a reminder of why the £35m defender (Sky Sports) isn’t in the strongest XI right now.
However, the Frenchman actually finished with some great individual statistics from the game.
Fotmob has provided the data from Badiashile’s performance versus Gent:
- Match rating – 7.7
- Minutes played – 90
- Touches – 175
- Accurate passes – 159/169 (94%)
- Passes into final third – 11
- Chances created – 2
- Recoveries – 12
- Interceptions – 1
We think Badiashile will have an important role to play in Chelsea’s cup runs this season, but we’d be a bit wary of him stepping into the Premier League line-up.
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