Liam Rosenior may be the tactical mastermind behind Chelsea’s resurgence, but Joao Pedro’s rise to become the club’s leading scorer is down to a special connection with one particular teammate.
Joao Pedro has proven to be arguably the signing of the summer for Chelsea after joining from Brighton for around £60 million.
Liam Rosenior has already spoken about how hard Chelsea worked to bring Pedro to the club in the summer, especially given the interest he was attracting from other clubs.
We have under half the season remaining and the Brazilian already has 13 goals and eight assists. This number could double given the number of competitions Chelsea still find themselves in.
Nobody can take away how hard Joao has worked since making his way to Stamford Bridge, but he’s certainly been aided by some of his teammates.
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Troy Deeney believes Cole Palmer is to thank for Joao Pedro’s rise
Joao Pedro has praised the bravery that Liam Rosenior has already instilled at Chelsea.
However, former Watford striker Troy Deeney believes that Pedro’s rise at Chelsea is largely down to Cole Palmer playing alongside him.
Speaking in the BBC Team of the Week column, he said this.
“He’s flying! Everyone puts that down to Liam Rosenior, but I put it down to having Cole Palmer back.
“Being able to have a player that can play behind him, find the passes and allows him to link up and move around, is why you’re seeing the best of him. I think that is five in five now for Joao.”
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Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro’s stats together
Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro have formed a lethal partnership under Liam Rosenior, becoming the focal point of Chelsea’s attack of late.
Their synergy was most recently evident in the draw against Leeds United, where Palmer provided a slick through ball for Pedro’s opening goal before Pedro returned the favor by winning the penalty that Palmer converted.
This link-up has accounted for 18 combined goal involvements this campaign, establishing them as the most productive attacking duo at Stamford Bridge.
The feeling is mutual between them too, as Cole Palmer picked Joao Pedro as the player he loves playing alongside the most at Chelsea.
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