Joao Pedro scored a great goal and drew a penalty as Chelsea beat Crystal Palace on Sunday. It was his best performance for some time.
“Once Estevao passed the ball to me, I felt confident that I could take the chance and I’m just very happy I managed to score and help the team,” the striker said.
“We are progressing well and we are all enjoying life under the new manager,” the Brazilian continued.
“He’s very important for us and we are happy working with him. When you play for Chelsea, you expect to win and he says the same. I’m very happy here and I hope we can kick on now, starting with a big game against Napoli in the Champions League on Wednesday.”
You can see the striker speaking in the clip embedded here:
Joao Pedro strikes back in battle to be Chelsea’s 9
Liam Delap enters for Joao Pedro.
Liam Delap enters for Joao Pedro. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Before this game, we were pretty confident that Liam Delap was winning his battle with JP to be Chelsea’s first choice number 9. The Englishman always impresses with his work rate and commitment and his runs behind, while Joao Pedro can sometimes disappear in games.
But yesterday was a reminder of what he can do in the right moments. The question is who gets the nod against Napoli on Wednesday in a crucial Champions League decider. That will tell us a lot about what manager Liam Rosenior is thinking.
We’ve heard fans on both sides of the debate – what do you think?
In other news…
JP is a smart and well spoken guy, and his comments about the timing of our goals on Sunday was spot on. Sometimes it’s just as much about when you score as how you score.
Estevao impressed again yesterday – the question now is when he gets his next start. Wayne Rooney and the other MOTD heads were very impressed by his efforts against Crystal Palace, with one aspect of his game noted in particular.
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Joao Pedro in Chelsea training.
Joao Pedro slams in a left footed shot.
Diego Costa on John Obi Mikel's podcast.