Mykhailo Mudryk showed “promising signs” on Chelsea debut, says Graham Potter

The Ukranian winger couldn’t help the Blues avoid an uninspiring stalemate against Liverpool but showed flashes of his class

Richard Jolly
at Anfield
Saturday 21 January 2023 16:05 GMT
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Mykhailo Mudryk impressed on debut despite the tepid goalless draw
Mykhailo Mudryk impressed on debut despite the tepid goalless draw (PA)

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Graham Potter was pleased with the “promising signs” he saw from Mykhailo Mudryk on the £88 million man’s Chelsea debut, describing the winger’s display as “really good.”

The 22-year-old came on for the last 35 minutes of Chelsea’s 0-0 draw with Liverpool at Anfield and Potter said he was not fit enough to start.

But the Chelsea manager was impressed with the way his biggest buy combined with his new team-mates as he had two shots and ran Liverpool right-back James Milner ragged, forcing the veteran to hack him down for a yellow card at one point.

Potter said: “He’s not played football for a while, he’s been on a mid-season break. He hasn’t had any game time and it would have been a risk. We had to manage his minutes, but you can see his quality.

“He was really good. He will get better the more he is with us and the more we see him and vice versa but there were promising signs.

“He has had two [training] sessions with us but from watching him with Shakhtar Donetsk and seeing his quality, he is dangerous in one-v-one situations, he gets supporters off their seats and knows where the goal is. Our job is to help him settle in.”

Chelsea have clinched the signing of winger Noni Madueke from PSV Eindhoven and Potter said: “He is an exciting player, brings a left-footed attacking option for us and competition in that area of the pitch.

“He is young player that has had a good start in his career, accumulated games at a big club in Holland, and he’s ready to take the next step. We need to help him make that step.”

Potter was pleased with the draw his side got, adding: “We were happy with the performance, happy with the energy, the spirit, the discipline. It is never easy coming here. We accept the point and move forward.”

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