Danny Murphy believes there’s one player in the Chelsea squad whose confidence has skyrocketed recently.
It’s been a frustrating time in general for everyone at Stamford Bridge this season, but somehow they go into the final three matches still in the hunt to qualify for European football.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side are up to seventh in the division table after the latest set of Premier League fixtures, which included Chelsea’s thumping 5-0 home victory against West Ham on Sunday.
The Blues have collected 10 points from their previous five league games to signal an upturn in form. Despite losing heavily to Arsenal during that run, they’ve recently beat West Ham, Tottenham and Everton. There was a comeback draw against Aston Villa, too.
Danny Murphy notices big change in Chelsea player
BBC pundit Danny Murphy claims that Chelsea’s Noni Madueke has taken huge strides forward in his game recently.
He believes that the £29m right-winger (Sky Sports) is now playing with a lot more confidence, something which head coach Mauricio Pochettino deserves big credit for.
“I think Madueke is a great example of an improvement this season,” Murphy told Match of the Day 2.
“I saw him a few times live earlier in the season. He was coming backwards a lot. He didn’t have the confidence…
“Madueke’s improvement, and some of the other players, but his improvement has been a real plus for Chelsea. I think Poch (Pochettino) deserves credit for that.”
Noni Madueke form
From the eye test alone, we’d say Madueke looks a lot happier on the pitch right now and he’s making a much greater impact at Chelsea. It’s not surprising that the statistics back that claim up, too.
Madueke has started Chelsea’s last six consecutive Premier League matches, his best run this season.
The skilful attacker has repaid the manager’s faith in him with three goals and two assists during this purple patch of form.
Look below at how WhoScored has rated Madueke in his last six league appearances, starting with the weekend’s 5-0 demolition of West Ham.
- 9.69 – West Ham (5 May)
- 7.74 – Tottenham (2 May)
- 8.71 – Aston Villa (27 April)
- 6 – Arsenal (23 April)
- 7.19 – Everton (15 April)
- 7.19 – Sheffield United (7 April)