Mykhailo Mudryk experienced a moment of mild embarrassment. The Ukrainian was let through with a brilliant clipped pass by Enzo Fernandez in the 75th minute, and the winger believed he had scored his first goal for Chelsea.
Mudryk raced to the Chelsea away end to celebrate his goal with the traveling supporters after quite easily slotting the ball past Danny Ward.
He appeared to be the last person to be informed that he was considered offside, though. Although it was a close call, the assistant referee made the right decision.
For Mudryk, it was an intensely emotional time. It makes sense that he became a little overexcited because he believed he had just scored his first Chelsea goal.
The objective was to effectively push two Foxes defenders back, creating space behind them for Felix, Havertz, and any other eager runners. Mudryk occasionally did that, but the role is very unselfish, so he saw very little of the ball in the first half.
Felix was replaced by Conor Gallagher at halftime, and Chelsea changed to a three-man midfield, with Mudryk and Havertz acting as the two middle strikers. Although Mudryk showed improvement from the first half, there was still a lingering impression that the former Shakhtar Donetsk forward could do more. And we did, albeit briefly, as Chelsea changed to a 4-3-3 and he moved to the left wing.
That was his unlawful objective arises from. With Ricardo Pereira attempting to locate the Ukrainian, he is on the left side. Due to the modern full-preference back’s for attacking and frequent defensive vulnerability, there is typically more room for a player to run in behind when they are on the wing. Moreover, when passing a center-back, there is typically another one to sweep up for their partner. When the Foxes attempted to apply offensive pressure, Leicester’s defense was located just behind the halfway line, giving Mudryk all the room in the world.
Then, he was able to get the job done. In the
In the run-up to the goal, Mudryk stayed really wide on the left side in an effort to dislodge his defender Pereira as much as possible. He was aware that with the play on Chelsea’s right side, Pereira would be moved more centrally and the Foxes’ defense four would move over to the ball if a cross was sent into the box.
That’s exactly what happened, and when Havertz eventually crossed the ball, Mudryk was positioned at the far post with plenty of room. He then delivered a wonderfully weighted header to Kovacic, who emphatically volleyed the ball beyond Ward.
“He has a great attitude and is eager to collaborate with the team. I’m glad he came through for us and got an assist.”
Even though it lasted only a few minutes, watching Mudryk in his most natural setting was really fascinating. Supporters of Chelsea should get used to that since it is obvious that is the role the team has in mind for him going forward.