“They should be ashamed of themselves because this is never how big clubs win games. Ten Hag’s tactics is illegal”- Chelsea manager Pochettino slams unlawful Erk Ten Hag’s tactics in defeat as he feels Man united doesn’t deserve to WIN
Of all the traditional ‘big six’ sides in the Premier League this year, Chelsea have perhaps had the most confusing season.
The Blues started the season in a vein of form no better than last year before going on to thrash Tottenham Hotspur away – while they were top of the league – and holding treble-winning Manchester City to a 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge.
It looked like Mauricio Pochettino’s men had turned a corner, only for them to fall to an embarrassing 4-1 defeat away to Newcastle United, which was then followed by a win over Brighton & Hove Albion.
In short, the Blues have been consistently inconsistent this year. Still, they could find the game against Manchester United later today even more challenging without their stand-in captain, Conor Gallagher.
The 23-year-old was shown two yellow cards against the Seagulls and will, therefore, be absent for the trip to Old Trafford; while this is undoubtedly a problem for the Pensioners, they have one surprise option: play Noni Madueke.
Noni Madueke’s stats this season
Gallagher’s sending off on the weekend firmly put the breaks on what has been a relatively impressive season for the Epsom-born midfielder so far this year.
He has gone from a bit part player who looked destined to leave the club over the summer to one that has been given the captain’s armband in Reece James’ absence – another red card mind – and has generally looked like one of the best players whenever he steps out onto the pitch, registering four assists already this season.
Unfortunately, though, his mindlessness on Sunday has left his manager in the lurch as, despite spending an exorbitant amount of money on new players in the summer, there isn’t really a natural replacement for Gallagher in the squad, or is there?
Madueke has been slowly growing into a more prominent role at Chelsea following his £30m move in January, and while he is still firmly a bench player, he has shown glimpses of brilliance along the way.
A goal in the EFL Cup, some impactful substitute appearances, and an impressive record with England’s U21s suggest a player ready to make a name for himself at Stanford Bridge. His numbers for this season, while from a much smaller sample size, aren’t that much worse than Gallagher’s.
The “unreal” 21-year-old, as described by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, certainly looks more of a goal threat, and while his passing numbers don’t match up, that is fairly understandable given the role he is expected to fulfil in the team.
Now, were he to be played in the central midfield position that has been occupied by Gallagher this evening, we might just see those improve, and while he has played on the wing for the Blues, he was frequently deployed in central midfield as a youth player.
Noni Madueke’s stats in central midfield
Now, it has been quite some time since the former PSV man played in the centre of the park – just shy of three years, to be exact – but he was deployed there fairly frequently as a youth player, both for PSV’s junior sides and England’s U16/17 sides.
He has made 14 competitive appearances as a central midfielder, racking up three goals one assist and coming out on the winning side on eight occasions, only losing three games.
