"Can't be starting anymore", "Seems like the odd one out" - Fans call out Chelsea star despite 2-0 win over Tottenham
Chelsea fans were disappointed with the performance of forward Mykhailo Mudryk despite their side claiming a 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Thursday, May 2. The Blues completed the league double over their London rivals, having also defeated them 4-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium earlier in the season.
Tottenham saw their dreams of UEFA Champions League qualification slip further away on Thursday, having already suffered a 3-2 defeat at home to Arsenal at the weekend.
For Chelsea, the injury list isn't getting any shorter, with 14 players ruled out of Spurs' visit to Stamford Bridge. Mauricio Pochettino made only one change to the XI that held Aston Villa to a 2-2 draw, with Alfie Gilchrist coming in for Thiago Silva.
The Blues looked up for it from the word go and deservedly won the game thanks to goals from Trevoh Chalobah (24') and Nicolas Jackson (72'). The fans were unimpressed with Ukrainian forward Mykhailo Mudryk, expressing the same via X (formerly Twitter) after the game.
There were also calls for the former Shakhtar Donetsk man to be left out or even sold outright from the club from fans on X. Here are some of their posts:
"Mudryk really needs to work on his finishing," a fan said.
"We've gotta loan out Mudryk tho," another added.
"We need to sell Mudryk," a Chelsea fan stated.
"Chelsea are playing Mudryk too and he’s still looked shit against this spurs team. He is awful," a fan added.
Chelsea have climbed up to eighth in the standings, their highest position in the league this season, following the win over Spurs. The Blues ended a disappointing run that had seen them lose two and draw one of their last three games.
Mauricio Pochettino makes history with Chelsea's win over Tottenham Hotspur
Exactly eight years after the infamous Battle of the Bridge between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, Mauricio Pochettino appeared on the same ground but in the opposite dugout. The Blues secured a 2-2 draw against Spurs in 2016, handing Leicester City the Premier League crown and ending the Lilywhites' title hopes.
On Thursday, Mauricio Pochettino's tactical adjustment saw Tottenham struggle to cope with the movement of Marc Cucurella more centrally, and was the basis of the deserved win. His opposite number had no response to this move as Spurs struggled to find any sort of rhythm at Stamford Bridge.
The Argentine manager became the first former Spurs manager in history to do the double over them in the Premier League. His win also ensured that he remains the only Tottenham manager in history to win at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League.