Enzo Maresca acknowledged that he had been working on positioning Chelsea’s wingers to improve their goal-scoring opportunities in the box after Mykhailo Mudryk delivered a standout performance in the club’s UEFA Europa Conference League victory over Panathinaikos.
The struggles of the Ukrainian international since his arrival at Chelsea for a fee close to £90million have been well documented, with Mudryk contributing only nine goals in the Premier League.
His inconsistent form has led the new manager, Enzo Maresca, to utilize him sparingly in the Premier League, where he has played just 82 minutes this season.
At 23 years old, Mudryk has faced increased competition for playing time, especially after Chelsea bolstered their attacking options in the summer by signing Joao Felix, Pedro Neto, and Jadon Sancho.
However, he was given a chance to start against Panathinaikos on Thursday, and he seized the opportunity by scoring his first goal of the season and assisting two more in a commanding 4-1 win.
Speaking to the press after the match, Maresca expressed his delight with Mudryk’s performance and revealed the specific aspects he had been working on with all of his wingers leading up to the game.
“I’m very happy but not for me, for him,” the former Leicester City boss said.
“We as a staff spend a long time helping the players, not only Misha but the whole squad, and since we started we have been working with all the wingers so that they arrive inside the box and into the position where Misha scored.
“He has struggled to arrive there but he is now arriving there and it’s where we will score goals.
“It’s the same for Jadon [Sancho], Noni [Madueke], Pedro [Neto], all the wingers, they need to be in that position because the ball is going to arrive in that position.”
Two of Chelsea’s goals were scored by João Félix, while the fourth came from Christopher Nkunku.
The latter has also struggled to secure regular minutes in the Premier League due to the impressive form of the current striker Nicolas Jackson.
Felix now boasts eight goals this season across all competitions, and like Mykhailo Mudryk, he will hope that his performance can earn him a starting position when Chelsea face Newcastle United in the Premier League on Sunday.
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