Chelsea players certainly deserve some criticism this season, with the team’s form of late not being great.
While Chelsea were able to beat Brentford 2-0 on Saturday, that was just their second win in the Premier League since the beginning of December.
Enzo Maresca took a lot of flak from supporters before his exit, and now the club’s owners and sporting directors are receiving the same treatment.
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Chelsea 2-0 Brentford graphic with Cole Palmer
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At the end of the day, though, it is the players who are on the pitch, so they also have to come in for criticism. However, one Chelsea star has faced too much.
Joao Pedro of Chelsea celebrates
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Joao Pedro criticism has been overblown
Joao Pedro is one member of Liam Rosenior’s squad who has been called out at times this season.
After his goal against Brentford, The Chelsea Chronicle and Chelsea supporters debated whether Pedro has been overly criticised in the current campaign.
Several did not agree with that sentiment and expressed their views on TalkingPoints.
Joao Pedro grabs his seventh Premier League goal of the season against Brentford! ⚽️
Joao Pedro's 2025/26 Premier League stats
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That is understandable, as Pedro is a £60m forward who has not exactly set the Premier League alight. That being said, he has still been Chelsea’s biggest goal threat.
His strike in Saturday’s west London derby was his seventh in the top flight this term and eighth across all competitions. He will easily reach double figures before the campaign ends.
Pedro also has three assists to his name in the Premier League, meaning that the 24-year-old has hit double digits for goal contributions.
The Brazilian has played as a striker and attacking midfielder, which has been needed given injuries to Cole Palmer and Liam Delap.
Pedro has been a selfless player, and Chelsea would be worse off without him.
Chelsea's Brazilian striker #20 Joao Pedro (2R) celebrates scoring
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Joao Pedro was meant to be a rotation player
High expectations have probably not helped Pedro. His goals at the Club World Cup gave everyone the impression that he was going to be Chelsea’s saviour. However, his track record shows that he is not a prolific No.9.
Ultimately, in the end, Chelsea fans have just come to expect too much from Pedro.
Joao Pedro is never going to be a prolific forward, but he’s a great player to have in the squad. What do we do with him?
Joao Pedro stats for Chelsea this season
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When the Club World Cup winners first signed him, the belief was that the Brazil international was going to be used as a rotation player, playing some games up front and elsewhere when needed.
Instead, he has become a mainstay in Chelsea’s starting XI and is now their leading goalscorer in the Premier League.
All in all, looking at Pedro’s overall career and not just those few appearances in the US last summer, he is probably performing at the level you would have expected him to before his Club World Cup heroics.
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