Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images
Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images
Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images
For a second game, it was a 4-4-2 system with Josh Acheampong at right-back, Neto and Morgan Rogers out wide, and Palmer playing off Pedro. The trio were good, without really making an impact today.
But it was Neto who had the telling impact. Described earlier as “underrated” by Owen Hargreaves on co-commentary, the TNT Sports pundit then handed Neto the man of the match award for his brace.
Interestingly, it was Neto’s first-ever Premier League brace. Hargreaves said he is Chelsea’s “unsung” hero: “The big moments have belonged to Pedro Neto. He’s definitely an unsung hero in this Chelsea team.”
Pedro Neto says Jorge Jesus is the secret behind Chelsea brace
Having clocked up 111 appearances for Chelsea since arriving at the club in 2024, Neto has only scored 21 goals for the Blues. A rate of a goal every five or six games, with fans criticising his end product.
But he put those doubts to bed today at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. Speaking after the match, Neto explained that new Portugal manager Jorge Jesus was the secret behind it, urging him to place his shots.
He told TNT Sports reporter Jules Breach: “This comes a little bit from the new coach of the national team, who says when you are near the area you need to pass to the goal, so really happy with that.”
The win takes Chelsea into fourth place in the Premier League, ahead of the rest of the weekend’s games in the Premier League. Chelsea are next in action against Xabi Alonso’s old side Liverpool in the Cup.