“That one substitution makes Chelsea lost the match” – Ashley Cole names one Pochettino substitution that makes Chelsea lost to West Ham
Chelsea great Ashley Cole has asserted that Mykhailo Mudryk’s introduction in his side’s latest 3-1 Premier League loss turned things easier for a 10-man West Ham United.
The Blues crashed to their first defeat of the 2023-24 Premier League campaign at the London Stadium on Sunday (August 20). They are yet to win a single match after drawing 1-1 against Liverpool past weekend.
Nayef Aguerd opened the scoring with a good header from a corner in the seventh minute before Carney Chukwuemeka equalized in the 28th minute with a fine right-footed strike. However, Michail Antonio’s 53rd minute finish and Lucas Paqueta’s injury-time penalty secured all three points for the Hammers despite losing Aguerd to a red card.
Mudryk, 22, replaced Chukwuemeka in the 46th minute and occupied the left flank in a revised 4-3-3 setup. He completed 13 passes and three crosses, created two chances and registered a shot off-target.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Cole claimed that Mudryk’s arrival released the pressure off West Ham’s shoulders this Sunday. He elaborated:
“Maybe the substitution caused an issue. It was all then too easy for West Ham. You are looking at other players around, Mudryk sometimes is a little bit too far away from the game. Is he arriving in the box enough?”
Mudryk, who joined Chelsea from Shakhtar Donetsk in a potential £86 million deal in January, had just 28 touches – as many as Blues goalkeeper Robert Sanchez – against West Ham. He also scuffed a volley so horribly that the ball landed outside the box during the game.