Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
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Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images
Photo by Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images
Photo by Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images
Winstanley and Stewart for Chelsea
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Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images
Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images
Photo by Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images
Photo by Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images
The former Watford and Brighton star averaged 84 touches between Premier League goals last season. This term, it’s just 34. Alonso is turning Pedro into Chelsea’s own Erling Haaland, and it’s really working.
READ MORE: Joao Pedro names the Chelsea youngster that is better than he was at 18
Jorrel Hato shares what Joao Pedro is like in Chelsea training
Alonso’s sessions are renowned for being intense. Cole Palmer recently said that finally, the Chelsea squad is adapting to Alonso’s demands and the way he wants to play, after so much managerial turnover.
The new Chelsea gaffer is a keen advocate of training the way you play, getting his players ready for the intensity of Premier League matches on a weekend. For Pedro, that suits the Brazilian striker’s intensity.
Jorrel Hato has been speaking to the Premier League’s YouTube channel; he was asked what Pedro is like behind the scenes at Cobham: “What does he do in training that people don’t necessarily see?”
Chelsea’s Netherlands international responded: “He’s very competitive. Very competitive. In the five-a-side, he always wants to win. And when we win, you will know. You will know,” Hato said about Pedro.
Joao Pedro needs to end dismal run against Everton on Saturday
Every Chelsea fan will know about their side’s dismal record against Everton. In the last eight trips to Merseyside to face the Toffees, Chelsea have lost six and won just once. They go to Everton on Saturday.
The Toffees are unbeaten this season, though they have drawn four of their six league games. David Moyes has guided Everton to fifth in the Premier League table, level on points with Alonso’s Chelsea.
Alonso needs his Chelsea side to forget the Everton hoodoo if they are to beat Everton. Emi Martinez’s record against Everton is superb, but Pedro’s is poor. In seven games against Everton, he hasn’t scored.
He has won three of seven games, but if Chelsea are going to win, they need a good performance from Pedro. Certainly, it will need to be better than the same fixture last season, which ended in a 3-0 defeat.