Pedro Neto was the star of the show as Chelsea ran out 3-0 winners over Nottingham Forest, but one player’s display will worry Enzo Maresca.
The Blues were dominated throughout the opening 45 minutes as Chelsea supporters criticised Trevor Chalobah, among others, for constantly gifting the hosts with goal-scoring opportunities.
Maresca made a triple substitution at half-time, and less than five minutes into the second half, Neto assisted Josh Acheampong for the opener before doubling the lead himself, and Reece James delivered the final blow.
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However, the resounding victory has somewhat layered over the cracks of the performance of one Blues star who was virtually non-existent at the City Ground.
Chelsea's Reece James (centre) celebrates with team mates after scoring his side's third goal during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Chelsea at City Ground.
Photo by Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images
Joao Pedro has a howler against Nottingham Forest
Joao Pedro has become Chelsea’s main man since arriving in a £60 million deal from Brighton this summer.
The 24-year-old has been electric with two goals and three assists to show from his opening eight outings, but this could not have been further from the case on Saturday.
Although fellow summer signing Alejandro Garnacho was frustrating before he was removed at half-time, Pedro produced arguably his worst display in a Chelsea shirt to date.
Joao Pedro vs Nottingham Forest Total
Touches 55
Touches in opposition box 2
Shots 1
Pass accuracy 74%
Long ball accuracy 0%
Successful dribbles 25%
Ground Duels won 40%
Statistics provided by Fotmob.
The Brazilian, who is widely regarded as being just as capable of operating in the number 10 role as he is leading the line, failed to test Mats Selz throughout the entirety of the 90 minutes, with his one shot going wide of the goal.
Pedro has drawn comparisons to Roberto Firmino as his style of play is remarkably similar to the ex-Liverpool forward, but even his overall link-up play was neutralised by the Forest defence.
Indeed, Maresca has few options to lead the line or sit behind the central striker with Liam Delap and Cole Palmer nursing injuries, but the Spaniard must find Pedro’s most productive position.
Joao Pedro cannot always play as the central striker for Chelsea
Speaking in his post-match press conference at the City Ground, Maresca was asked about his decision to make three changes at half-time.
And in answering the question, the Chelsea boss also addressed Pedro’s lacklustre performance and suggested the Brazilian cannot always be asked to lead the line.
“I always try to do my best. Sometimes I’m wrong, sometimes I’m right. But in this moment, it’s more about protecting players. We already knew that Romeo [Lavia) was not going to play 90 minutes.
“Romeo’s plan was 45 minutes. Moi (Caicedo) cannot play 90 minutes, so the decision was to start with Moi or start with Romeo. And Romeo needs confidence, he needs a boost, he needs to start the game. So that was the plan. Then Garna (Garnacho) did a fantastic game against Liverpool. So it was good to give him again the chance.
“Jamie (Gittens) came on, he was okay. And I think Marc Guiu was good. But also, we planned the game expecting them back four, not back five. I think back four with Joao Pedro’s at No.9 is better. With a back five, Joao Pedro at No.9 is not… If you remember, West Ham away; back five, we played Liam Delap and Joao Pedro against a back five. So we expected them back four, but they were back five. And then after half-time, we changed.”