All eyes will be on Joao Pedro on Wednesday night. The man who can end PSG’s hopes of retaining the Champions League as Chelsea take on Luis Enrique’s side in Paris.
In a blockbuster re-run of the Club World Cup final, Liam Rosenior will be hoping he can pull off a repeat of his Strasbourg wins over PSG come Wednesday night. The first leg of a star-studded last 16 clash.
Joao Pedro is a man in form. According to Wayne Rooney, the most in-form striker in the Premier League. Since Rosenior became Chelsea manager, Pedro has scored 11 goals in 13 games, laying on five assists.
Joao Pedro is the BEST signing of the Todd Boehly era 💵
At £60m, he seems to be a bit of a bargain!
Incredible form for a player who was performing well enough under Enzo Maresca. But the change under Rosenior has been dramatic. However, there is one underlying Pedro stat that will concern Enrique.
Joao Pedro is Premier League’s best for runs in behind
At the moment, Brazil star Pedro boasts an incredible 178 runs in behind the defence in the Premier League. He’s run in behind a defence more than Erling Haaland and any other player in England’s top tier.
Nine of Pedro’s Premier League goals have come from running in behind a defence this season, second only to Haaland. This is a player that will expose a high line, space in behind, just how PSG defend.
FBL-EUR-C1-CHELSEA-TRAINING
Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP via Getty Images
There is a world, perfectly conceivable, where Pedro springs the offside trap and gets on the end of a defence-splitting pass. While PSG are a brilliant side, the game is perfect for Chelsea’s most in-form star.
That is what will be giving Enrique and the PSG defence nightmares ahead of Wednesday night. If they choose to operate in a deeper defensive fashion, then it opens up space for Cole Palmer and co.
Liam Rosenior’s record against PSG while Strasbourg manager
During his 18 months as Strasbourg manager, Rosenior faced PSG on three occasions. Twice away from home, and once at the Stade de la Meinau. Rosenior lost just once, drawing another, and winning one.
Discuss: Joao Pedro is the new Didier Drogba 🔥
Numbers prior to Wrexham win.
His first resulted in a 4-2 defeat at home in which Strasbourg were still in their infancy under Rosenior. He did enough to worry the French champions in their own backyard. At home, Strasbourg got revenge.
A 2-1 win with a side that included Mamadou Sarr, Emanuel Emegha and Djordje Petrovic. During the first half of the season, Rosenior went to PSG and watched a 3-3 draw. Ben Chilwell and Mike Penders played.
Rosenior knows how to score against this PSG side, he knows how to exploit PSG’s weaknesses, and with a better defence, he might have a better chance of keeping them out.
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