Liam Rosenior has boldly placed striker Joao Pedro in the same group as some of the most dangerous forwards in the world. The 24-year-old Brazilian scored three goals in Wednesday’s 4-1 win over Aston Villa, bringing his total for the season to 17 goals in all competitions.
This season, he has scored 14 goals in the Premier League, none of which have come from the penalty spot. Only Erling Haaland, with 19 goals, has scored more non-penalty goals in England’s top flight this season. Harry Kane of Bayern Munich has the most goals in Europe’s top five leagues with 26 in the Bundesliga, while Kylian Mbappe of Real Madrid has 23 in La Liga.
During his post-match press conference, Rosenior discussed Pedro’s ability to play at such a high level:
“Joao is in that category now. In the two months I’ve been here, he has consistently shown he is a world-class striker. I talk about my players; it’s disrespectful to Erling to compare them. I don’t know Erling very well, but from the outside he looks a magnificent, world-class striker.”
Rosenior went even further, saying:
“I wouldn’t swap Joao for anyone at this moment – he is showing all the qualities and attributes I want to see. The great thing for Joao is his age – he can still improve, and I’ve already noticed several areas where he can get better. But the level he’s operating at now is world class.”
The numbers back up Rosenior’s opinion of his in-form striker. João Pedro has an impressive shot-conversion rate of 24.6%, which is better than both Haaland’s 22.5% and Mbappé’s 20.7%. The Brazilian has five league assists this season, the same as Kane and more than Mbappé.
The Chelsea forward is also getting close to a big milestone: he could become the first striker to score 20 goals for the Blues since Diego Costa did it in the 2016–17 season. Cole Palmer scored 25 goals in 2023–24, and Eden Hazard scored 21 goals five years earlier, but both played deeper or wider than a traditional centre-forward.
Chelseaare getting ready to play Wrexham in the FA Cup Fifth Round today
The Bluesare now focused on the FA Cup, where they will play Championship team Wrexham at the Racecourse Ground in the fifth round today.Rosenior’s teamare coming into the match after a week that boosted their spirits. They ended a three-game winless streak with the Villa win.
Pedro Neto is back from suspension and could play. Rosenior has to decide whether to rest some of his best players ahead of the first leg of the Champions League last 16 against Paris Saint-Germain.
Wrexhamhave already knocked out Nottingham Forest, a team from the Premier League, in this year’s tournament. This shows that Chelsea will need to play their best to avoid an upset in the cup in North Wales.