Usually a left winger alongside Cole Palmer, Pedro Neto put in a man of the match performance filling in for the No.10 on the right once again.
Enzo Maresca deployed Pedro Neto as a right winger once again on Cole Palmer’s absence and it paid off. The No.7 recorded a goal and an assist as Chelsea defeated Nottingham Forest 3-0 at the City Ground.
It was twice as many goal involvements as the Portuguese had managed in his previous 10 appearances this season combined (one goal vs. West Ham two months ago).
What made Pedro Neto’s performance so impressive?
Tough first half
Pedro Neto ended the game against Nottingham Forest with a goal and an assist to his name. However, it wasn’t always smooth and easy for him.
Both teams started with relatively cautious and conservative lineups. Andrey Santos acted as Chelsea’s number 10 with Enzo Fernandez out, while Romeo Lavia and Malo Gusto played as defensive midfielders. Unsurprisingly, this trio struggled to get the Blues going in the attacking half, whether it was through ball carries or passes.
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This affected their attacking line. Neto and Alejandro Garnacho had few opportunities to make something happen on the wings, while Joao Pedro was left isolated up front. The Brazilian then started dropping even deeper than usual, which helped.
But other than an individual play early on getting the best out of Oleksandr Zinchenko, Neto didn’t do much in the first half. He was one of the few trying to do something different and create danger but was lacking end product and the team collectively as a whole also didn’t help.
Key first half stats:
- 1 shot
- 1 cross
- 0 chances created
Best when cutting inside
Enzo Maresca (or was it Willy Caballero?) then switched things up at the break. Striker Marc Guiu entered the fray with Joao Pedro going to the number 10 role. Jamie Gittens and Moises Caicedo also came on for Garnacho and Lavia, respectively.
These changes gave Chelsea a lot more offensive power. Within 10 minutes, the Blues were up 2-0.
Neto showed good things when cutting inside from the right in the first half. The early involvement taking Zinchenko on and a dangerous shot from long range. He was otherwise “relegated” to hugging the touchline and trying to get crosses into the box, with predictable movements out wide.
On the left, however, it makes more sense. In a circumstancial and isolated play, he attacked the byline down the left and whipped in a beautiful cross. Josh Acheampong headed it home and made it 1-0.
He then scored Chelsea’s second with a free kick just three minutes later. Granted, Matz Sels could’ve done better. The shot had an expected goals value of 0.10 and just 0.12 xGOT.
Chelsea’s main source of danger
The Blues focused most of their attacks down Pedro Neto’s right side while he was on the pitch. In his 78 minutes, Chelsea concentrated 37% of their offensive actions there, as opposed to 32% down the left and 31% through the middle.
He also created at least twice as many chances as any other player in the game, while also leading the Blues in shot attempts, shots on target and crosses.
Key second half stats:
- 1 goal
- 1 assist
- 3 chances created
- 3 crosses
- 1 shot
While Neto certainly doesn’t offer nearly as much offensively as Cole Palmer, he does have his qualities that can be enough for Chelsea to “weather the storm” while the No.10 is out.
The Blues are now in a three-game winning streak and the Portuguese international started all three of them. Estevao – who came on for Neto and scored the winner against Liverpool – is another option. Both can also play alongside Palmer when he comes back.
Maresca still favours conservative lineups from time to time, but has plenty of alternatives to choose from in case he wants to field a more attacking starting XI. That could be the case when Chelsea host Ajax next Tuesday in the Champions League.