Joao Pedro continued his stunning form in front of goal for Chelsea under Liam Rosenior with a superb hat-trick against Aston Villa, but how does he compare to Didier Drogba’s first Chelsea campaign?
Pedro netted three times and Cole Palmer also got his name on the score sheet as Chelsea resurrected their pursuit of Champions League qualification, even if Opta predict Chelsea will still finish in sixth place.
BARGAIN: How much is Joao Pedro worth now? 🔥
Chelsea paid £60m last summer.
That has now taken Pedro to 10 goals in 12 games under Rosenior since the new manager arrived to replace Enzo Maresca in January. In that time, Pedro has also laid on five assists with Rosenior in charge.
Joao Pedro overtakes Didier Drogba’s first season at Chelsea
Back in the summer of 2004, Didier Drogba joined Chelsea after scoring a whopping 32 goals for French side Marseille. He was the key part of a Marseille side that would go on to win the 2004 UEFA Cup.
Aston Villa v Chelsea - Premier League
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
In his first season at Chelsea, Drogba would play a total of 41 games in all competitions and have a hand in 16 goals. The Ivory Coast star also laid on eight assists, a very solid first season in English football.
Well, Pedro clocked up his 41st outing for Chelsea on Wednesday night since joining from Brighton last summer. Including Club World Cup games, Pedro took his tally to 20 for the season, creating nine more.
Discuss: Joao Pedro is the new Didier Drogba 🔥
He's overtaken the Chelsea icon's first-season numbers.
How many goals can Joao Pedro score this season?
Pedro is scoring goals at a rate of almost two a game, having netted 20 in 41 matches. Not including the potential next rounds of the Champions League and The FA Cup, Chelsea have 12 games left to play.
If he scores goals at the same rate he has all season, that would see him score another six times (5.85) before the end of the season. However, if he keeps his rate of goals up under Rosenior, it will be more.
A total of 10 goals and five assists have followed under Rosenior’s guidance, in just 12 outings. Pedro was unused in FA Cup games against Hull City and Charlton Athletic, with Rosenior giving others game time.
If he can keep the rate of goals he has scored under Rosenior up, that would see him net eight more times between now and the end of the season (8.33). Of course, Chelsea may progress in the Cups, too.
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