Former Chelsea midfielder Emmanuel Petit is anxious by the shape of Joao Pedro and said the striker has ‘dropped off’ after his brilliant begin to life on the club.
Joao Pedro, who signed for £60million from Brighton in the summertime, made a quick start at his recent club, scoring three goals in his first three games to assist Chelsea win the Club World Cup within the Unites States.
Indeed, the Brazilian international also began brightly within the Premier League, scoring three and assisting one in his first 4 games of the season.
Joao Pedro, nonetheless, soon found the burden of goalscoring responsibility placed firmly on his shoulders after Nicolas Jackson left for Bayern Munich and Liam Delap picked up an injury in the primary few weeks of the season.
And the 24-year-old’s goal return has dried up noticeably in the next months, with the striker scoring only twice in his last 12 appearances in all competitions.
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Chelsea’s impressive win over Barcelona saw Maresca opt to deploy Pedro Neto as a central striker, with each Delap and Joao Pedro resigned to watching from the bench.
And former Blues midfielder Petit admitted it is tough to not be concerned about Joao Pedro’s form after what had initially been such a brilliant start as Chelsea’s recent No9.
‘The striker curse may need got to Joao Pedro at Chelsea,’ Petit told Snabbare. ‘It’s weird. There are two ‘curses’ at this club, the goalkeeper position and the number nine.
‘Truthfully, I used to be very impressed with him when he began on the Club World Cup, after which he did it again when he got here back through the summer. But week after week, he has been dropping off.
‘Have a look at the sport in midweek against Barcelona. Pedro Neto was playing striker, they usually have three strikers. They’ve three strikers, and none of them began against Barcelona.
‘I checked out the sport, I checked out the team sheet, and I checked out the players on the bench and I believed, what? There are three strikers on the bench? Nobody began the sport?
‘What’s happening? If I remember right, all of them were bought last season at the top of the season, and nobody is playing in top games?’
Petit suggested that Chelsea’s depth in attacking areas might actually be affecting Pedro, with Maresca’s constant chopping and changing not allowing the striker to settle right into a rhythm within the starting lineup.
Maresca: ‘Joao Pedro shouldn’t be going to attain 20 goals a 12 months’
Speaking earlier within the season, Maresca said Chelsea fans mustn’t expect Joao Pedro to achieve Erling Haaland’s levels of goalscoring.
‘He’s going to attain goals with us, he’s going to offer us assists, knowing that Joao Pedro shouldn’t be a No9 that’s going to attain 20 goals annually,’ the Italian said.
‘He’s a improbable player, he’s going to attain goals for us, he’s going to offer us assists. However it’s a special type of nine, not like this type of nine that they rating 20-25 goals annually. Lewandowski, Mbappe or Haaland, this sort is a special profile.’
‘What I can say about it’s if you put an excessive amount of competition to earn your home, it sometimes becomes very difficult for the players,’ he added. ‘We come back to the pressure Estevao will receive from his manager after his comments.
‘It’s the identical situation that the strikers reside under for years now at Chelsea. You don’t perform well, you go on the bench. Next, you don’t perform well, you go on the bench too. It’s like this on a regular basis.
‘I believe confidence has been dropping for some players. Injuries as well. Liam Delap, for instance, has been injured. He just got here back. If Delap was not injured, I’m pretty sure he would probably be the primary selection for Maresca.
‘I believe Joao Pedro needs to grasp that if you’re a striker, you’re judged in your stats. When you don’t rating, it doesn’t matter.
‘We don’t care what they do on the pitch until they rating. That’s their mission. Their primary mission is to place the ball into the online.
‘When you don’t try this, and that is the issue at Chelsea, after they start the sport, they don’t rating goals. The next game, they’re on the bench. Confidence drops, and this can be a circle’
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