Gabby Agbonlahor praised Mateo Kovacic for his eye-catching Chelsea performance yesterday.
Kovacic, 28, wore the captain’s armband last night during the European showdown between the Blues and Borussia Dortmund.
Chelsea recorded a deserved 2-0 home win over Dortmund to qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals.
Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz both scored at Stamford Bridge to overturn the one-goal deficit from the first leg.
The form books certainly pointed towards a Dortmund triumph over the two legs. However, Graham Potter’s side produced a memorable display under the lights at Stamford Bridge.
TalkSPORT pundit Agbonlahor singled out Kovacic for special praise.
In particular, he highlighted the central midfielder’s dribbling as such a huge positive in his game.
“Kovacic was outstanding. When he plays in that midfield, there’s a big difference. Running with the ball and releasing players at the right time,” Agbonlahor told talkSPORT.
It was a brilliant effort from Kovacic in the centre of the park, who worked tirelessly and managed to break the lines numerous times with his exquisite dribbling.
The Croatian’s got the knack of gliding past opponents and dragging his team up the field.
He passed the captain’s armband over to Kepa Arrizabalaga when he was substituted off for the final 10 minutes against Dortmund.
Journalist Simon Phillips has recently told GiveMeSport that he can definitely see Kovacic leaving Chelsea at the end of the season.
We don’t want to lose the Rolls-Royce midfielder, though.
His partnership alongside Enzo Fernandez is one that is definitely starting to grow, so let’s hope it’s not wrecked in the summer.
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