“You don’t always get that” - Glenn Hoddle lavishes praise on Chelsea star Pedro Neto for moment inside tunnel before Wolves clash
Football pundit Glenn Hoddle has praised Chelsea forward Pedro Neto for the friendly moment he shared with his former Wolverhampton Wanderers teammate Jose Sa in the tunnel. The pair shared a warm greeting at their first meeting since the winger left the Midlands for west London this summer.
The 24-year-old winger spent five years with Wolves after arriving from Lazio in the summer of 2019 as a 19-year-old for €17.9 million. The Portuguese winger made 135 appearances for Wolves, bagging 14 goals and 24 assists.
After years of being linked with a move away from Wolves, Neto finally left the club this summer to join Chelsea in a move reportedly worth £54 million.
Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Hoddle appreciated the warm greeting between Neto and Jose Sa ahead of the two sides' Premier League clash on Sunday, August 25. He said (via The Boat Room):
“That’s nice to see. You don’t always get that. That’s an old teammate or one of the staff I would imagine.”
It was a disappointing evening for Jose Sa on the pitch, though, as the Blues scored six goals past him en route to a comfortable 6-2 win. Neto assisted Joao Felix for the game's final goal in the 80th minute.
"Hopefully we can build some momentum from there" - Chelsea boss on importance of away win at Wolverhampton Wanderers
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is keen to build on the momentum from his side's victories against Servette in the UEFA Conference League qualifiers and Wolves in the Premier League. The Blues have bounced back well after a 2-0 defeat against Manchester City in their league opener.
Speaking after the match, Maresca said (via Football London):
"It's always good to win games. We won one game the other day in the Conference League, so two in a row. Hopefully we can build some momentum from there and to continue to improve."
"For us, the target in this moment is to see the way we improve. They are just asking me now about different things that no one from the club asked me to compete for the Premier League or a Champions League spot. They just asked me to improve the players, improve the team, and also in this moment the targets is to solve the economic problem in terms of the reason why we need to sell players and do some things.
Maresca added:
"If we solve these kind of problems, and from there, we try to do our best and see where we arrive."
Chelsea will next face Swiss side Servette in the return leg of their Europa Conference league qualifier on Thursday, August 29.