After concerns were expressed about his performance against West Ham at the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon, Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk has written a message to fans.
After the game, several fans vented on social media about how poorly the Ukrainian’s time with the team had gone since his arrival the previous season, with some admitting their patience was wearing thin.
In what has started to feel like a nightmarish game for the Blues, Nayef Aguerd’s header gave the hosts the lead after just six minutes. However, just before the half-hour mark, Carney Chukwuemeka would score the equalizer with some excellent footwork and a curling shot.
Five minutes before the break, Mauricio Pochettino’s side were awarded a penalty following Raheem Sterling’s darting run in to the box before he was brought down by Tomas Soucek. Enzo Fernandez stepped up but saw his spot-kick saved by Alphonse Areola who dived down to his right to palm the ball away.
That saw the momentum swing in the Hammers’ favour, as they started on the front foot again in the second half and were rewarded when Michail Antonio’s shot from outside the box flew past Bobby Sanchez and into the bottom-left corner to give them the lead.
Despite having more of the ball, a lack of creativity, movement and venom about them meant Chelsea could not find an opening, even after Aguerd had been sent off for a second bookable offence.
Why Mudryk Sent A Message To The Chelsea Supporters
Unfortunately for Mudryk, who came on at halftime to replace the injured Chukwuemeka, he was unable to have any sort of impact on the left wing in the 45 minutes he was given.
Having lost key attackers to injury over the preseason, Chelsea legend Ashley Cole was worried after the game that players like Mudryk would be unable to help the Blues find those lost goals – not something you want to hear about your £62 million player.
“I really feel it is going to be a problem, in terms of goals,” he admitted on Sky Sports after the game. “Whether [Christopher] Nkunku comes back quicker than we think I don’t know, I think he’s a big loss.
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“Then 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?
“When we were there, that is what you want – penetration and runs in behind that cause defences problems.”
However, manager Pochettino defended the 22-year-old’s performance, saying: “Today he played 45 minutes. I think he’s a young player who we need to trust and build these relationships with us and the team.
“He has enormous quality and talent, it’s only time for him to settle better with the team and find a way to perform in the way that we expect.”
Mudryk’s Message To The Fans
Mudryk himself then took to social media to send a message to supporters, claiming that if they stick together, the success will be sweeter following backlash over his performance.
He wrote: “Guys, just want to say that I appreciate all your support [red heart emoji]. We going with y’all in one boat, lose together and we win together, and my success will be yours as well [handshake emoji, winky face emoji, prayer emoji].”
Love this attitude from Mudryk 👏💙 pic.twitter.com/EldHRXlhYW
— CFC-Blues (@CFCBlues_com) August 21, 2023
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