Chelsea Ace’s ‘Sensational’ Display vs Palace is Terrible News for £50k-p/w Teammate

Chelsea’s run without a win in the Premier League extended to four games after losing a slender advantage late on to draw 1-1 with Crystal Palace. Cole Palmer’s opener was cancelled out by a late Jean-Philippe Mateta equaliser, sending the travelling fans home with little to celebrate.

Though they didn’t get to see their side win, the supporters in the away end were at least treated to a wonderful goal to lift the mood. While it was Palmer who applied the finish, the hard work came from Jadon Sancho, who provided a ‘sensational assist’. The once Manchester United flop showed his true quality by dummying the ball on the halfway line to burst away from Palace defender Chris Richards, before demonstrating intricate footwork on the edge of the box to poke the ball through to his teammate, who did the rest.

While it was a pleasing sight for Chelsea supporters, one man who may have been celebrating the goal through gritted teeth was Noni Madueke. Enzo Maresca opted to start Sancho and Pedro Neto on either flank, leaving Madueke out of the starting XI for the third time in four Premier League games. Sancho’s magnificent assist and impressive performance may have been the nail in the coffin for the fellow winger, as his manager appears to have settled on a preferred front four that doesn’t include him.

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Madueke’s future at Stamford Bridge has been far from certain for the majority of the time he has been at the club. The 22-year-old was linked with a move away as far back as last summer, with teams like Newcastle rumoured to have been interested in securing the £50,000-per-week man’s services.

He ended up staying, however, and while he didn’t feature in the opening game of the season against Manchester City, he added salt to the wounds of Wolves fans by scoring a hat-trick against them in his first start of the season, hours after posting a negative message about the city on social media. He would fail to keep up this level though and he began to frustrate the fans. This was never more apparent than when he impressed in England colours, particularly when he set up Ollie Watkins to score against Greece – many fans online concluding that he would have been more selfish had he still been in Chelsea colours.

What Sancho put on display against Palace though was the polar opposite to what supporters had come use to from Madueke. The former Borussia Dortmund star not only provided the assist, but his overall performance was far more selfless. Sancho completed 36 of his 38 passes, two of those being key and one of those going down as a big chance – the play for Palmer’s goal.

He was also efficient with his dribbling, completing 75% on the day, which is far better than Madueke’s season average. With Neto also being preferred on the right, the former PSV star would’ve been hoping that the once problematic Sancho resorted to old habits so that he could capitalise. However, if recent reports are to be believed, the shoe now appears to be on the other foot and it is costing Madueke his place in the team

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While Madueke afforded cameo appearances both today (albeit it in an unfavoured position at left-wing) and in the 0-0 draw against Everton, he was left out completely for the 2-1 defeat to Fulham on Boxing Day. Enzo Maresca claimed it was down to a technical decision – similar lingo that has been used by Ruben Amorim to explain Marcus Rashford’s recent absences.

As later reported by the Daily Mail, this was a result of Madueke’s poor performance in training, something that he has fallen foul of multiple times this season. The player was called out by his manager in August despite scoring in a Conference League win over Servette. He was later dropped to the bench in the win over Aston Villa for the same reason, but was restored to the line-up for the following game.

However, in a case of three strikes and you’re out, Maresca booted him from the squad completely after he again dropped off, and it has not been as easy for the forward to waltz his way back into the team. It now appears his manager may have lost trust in him, and his lack of game time in recent fixtures suggests that it is going to take some doing to knock Sancho and Neto out of their spots on either wing. A bitter blow for a player that just a couple of months ago seemed to have his place in the team nailed on. Perhaps this tale is turning out to be more of a warning to the wise.

All statistics courtesy of Sofascore – accurate as of 04/01/2024