Chelsea had five different goalscorers during tonight’s 5-1 away win at Southampton, including Noni Madueke.
Chelsea have moved up to second in the Premier League after an emphatic victory at St Mary’s against Southampton on Wednesday evening.
The Blues ran riot thanks to goals from Axel Disasi, Christopher Nkunku, Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer and Jadon Sancho. Next, Enzo Maresca’s side travel to rivals Tottenham on Sunday afternoon.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink loved Madueke’s Chelsea goal as he marked his returning to the starting line-up against Southampton in some style. The right-winger scored and assisted to remind everyone of what he brings to this squad.
Noni Madueke of Chelsea and Kyle Walker-Peters of Southampton compete for the ball during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Chels...
Photo by Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Chelsea fans react to Noni Madueke display vs Southampton
The Chelsea fanbase had plenty to say about Madueke after his individual performance versus Southampton in midweek.
Interestingly, many fans on social media believe that the recent decision from Enzo Maresca to bench the 22-year-old has been a masterstroke. They think it played a role in how he played on Wednesday.
Here are Blues fans on X reacting to Madueke’s display away to Southampton:
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@Meme_Loyrd wrote: “Dropping players who are underperforming on the bench works a lot, see how Enzo [Fernandez] has improved, who else also noticed Madueke since he was dropped over the weekend.”
@CFCLade_ posted: “Nice to see Madueke doing some crossing into the box. He’s really learnt from Neto while on the bench in the last game.”
@headlandfash claimed: “To get the best out of Madueke, the manager need to bench him once in a while. He always comes back with a vengeance.”
@Cfc_caicenzo shared: “It only took Madueke one bench to provide two assists in two games.”
@CurrencySe34903 said: “Noni is on fire. 1 goal. 1 assist. Sometimes, when you being dropped to the bench your brain resets, it’s not a bad thing.”
Madueke was left out of Chelsea’s XI in the weekend’s defeat to Aston Villa, although he came on as a substitute and created an assist. He’s now answered back with a goal and assist against Southampton.
In fairness, Enzo Fernandez has recently enjoyed his own redemption arc because he’s come from the bench to one of the star players in the XI. Andy Townsend says Chelsea’s Fernandez looks more confident.
Maresca is showing such great signs of man-management with the way he’s using his squad.
Chelsea competition on the wings
Even though Madueke scored and assisted versus Southampton, it shouldn’t necessarily guarantee him another start for the weekend’s league trip to Spurs.
Jadon Sancho came off the bench and scored tonight. Meanwhile, Pedro Neto was completely rested as an unused substitute. Also, Mykhailo Mudryk missed Chelsea against Southampton through illness.
There’s so much talent to pick from on the wings for Chelsea this campaign, so it’ll be interesting to see who gets the nod in the XI.
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