“I stand on my feet and take a bow for him” “I keep watching all day” – Gareth Bale hails Chelsea star after making Fluminese suffer in Club World Cup Semi finals
Joao Pedro is quickly winning over the Chelsea supporters, especially after he guided his new team to the Club World Cup final.
Joao Pedro, signed by Chelsea just six days ago, has had a night to remember on his first start for them.
The 23-year-old Brazilian attacker made his Blues debut off the bench in the quarter-final victory against Palmeiras a few days ago. On Tuesday night, he followed it up with some heroics in the Club World Cup semi-final.
Enzo Maresca’s side beat Fluminense 2-0 in the last four tie, with Pedro netting twice to make himself the hero. He scored his first goals in Chelsea colours, one in each half, in spectacular fashion.
The summer signing opened the scoring with a curled effort from the edge of the box in the 18th minute. Afterwards, he grabbed his brace in the 56th minute with a thunderous effort that went in off the crossbar.
Unsurprisingly, Brazilian media raved about Pedro after his spectacular display against his former club.
The versatile attacker played for Fluminense, Watford and Brighton during his rise as a footballer. Based on the very early stages of his Chelsea career, he’s now ready to make that step up to the elite level.
Gareth Bale stunned by Joao Pedro performance for Chelsea
Gareth Bale, the retired football legend, delivered high praise on Chelsea forward Pedro after watching his Club World Cup masterclass in the semi-finals.
Speaking on DAZN’s coverage of Chelsea against Fluminense, Bale said (10:25pm, 8 July): “He probably wants to come in and make an impact straight away; it’s his first start. To have a strike like that on your debut is great…
“[For his second goal] he’s cut in, great strike, and his confidence is obviously very high. A great finish…
“It’s not just the goals. It’s the link-up play, the passes, the vision. Even just coming into a new team, trying to understand your teammates is very difficult as well. A great all-round performance. Thoroughly deserved the player of the match.”
Speaking earlier this week, Alan Shearer called Pedro a “clever signing” by Chelsea because he raises the competition at Stamford Bridge. Well, it looks like he’s going to be pushing hard for a spot in the starting XI.
All of a sudden, the Blues could have Pedro, Nicolas Jackson and Liam Delap fighting for the No.9 position.
It’s starting to make sense why Pedro said his best position is as a striker.