Pat Nevin was blown away by Jorginho’s display for Chelsea during the easy 3-0 Premier League victory over Newcastle United last Saturday.
Writing for the club website, Nevin expressed how enthralled he’d been by the midfielder’s showing at St James’ Park.
Jorginho ran the show for Thomas Tuchel’s team, picking each pass with all the time of Tyneside.
His encompassing exhibition was capped off by converting a penalty ten minutes from time.
The 29-year-old has now scored 10 consecutive top-flight goals from the spot, a first in the competition’s history.
Just another achievement to tick off the glistening check-list.
Pat purrs over Jorgi
“The weekend once more had me watching Jorginho with my jaw metaphorically on the floor,” admitted Nevin.
“His proactive play seems to be getting higher up the field as the season goes on.
“Maybe it helps that ThiagoSilva – and others to be fair – can step out of the back line now and again and play the deep lying ‘Cinco’ midfield controlling position with consummate ease.
“This allows our number five to move that bit further forward.
“On top of that, however, once again his penalty kick style took the breath away.
“I urge anyone to watch his penalty against Newcastle again, specifically from the (third) angle that shows his face never looking down at the ball at any point.”
The Italian job
Nevin has never shied away from his admiration for the £50m (BBC) signing from Napoli.
In an interview with the Chelsea Chronicle, the former Chelsea winger said he has always been part of the Jorginho fan base.
“In the darkest days when Jorginho was getting stick when Sarri was manager, I wasn’t having it,” he said.
“I was trying to say, ‘wait a minute, this guys’ unbelievable, this guys’ running games, this guys’ controlling games.’”
For a while, this criticism stuck with the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year.
Up until about 10 months ago, coincidently around the time Tuchel took over from Frank Lampard as the Blues boss.
Ever since Tuchel’s appointment, Jorginho has been one of the best midfielders on the planet.
He helped orchestrate Chelsea’s Champions League victory, not to mention Italy’s European Championship triumph.
Then he got his hands on the UEFA Super Cup, before landing the coveted aforementioned individual honour.
Better get used to those Newcastle performances, Pat, because there’s plenty more where that came from.