MUDTABLE MEDIOCRITY
In a dreadful showdown between two lumbering heavyweights, Mudryk’s cameo debut shone like a jewel and team-mate Cesar said: He’s confident, focused, brilliant... and already has great connection with the Chelsea fans
LIVERPOOL 0 CHELSEA 0 CHELSEA’S veteran defender Cesar Azpilicueta just smiled and walked off when asked if he saw a bit of Eden Hazard in Mykhailo Mudryk.
While it is way too early to compare the Ukrainian winger to the Belgium who became one of the best players in the world at Chelsea, there will be plenty of excitement about his second-half cameo here.
Mudryk, 22, was one of the bright sparks in a dour goalless draw with Liverpool which proved why these two sides are slugging it out in midtable rather than battling it out at the top of the Premier League.
You would expect there to be something special about the attacking midfielder considering he cost £88million from Shakhtar
Donetsk. But you wouldn’t have expected him to steal the show after he came on in the second half.
Mudryk’s quick feet almost found him enough space for an opener but he smashed into the side-netting. And he forced James Milner into a late tackle which earned him a yellow card after a blistering turn of pace left the veteran struggling.
Every time quicksilver Mudryk got on the ball, the home fans at Anfield were on edge and the Blues in the away end were anticipating something special. There’s an awful lot more to come, at least based on this evidence
Before he made his quick exit on the mention of a Hazard comparison, Azpilicueta sang the praises of the January signing Chelsea beat Arsenal to. “I’ve seen a very focused lad with great determination, great ambition,” said the Blues defender.
“It was his first game since November so, for him, it was like preseason. He played 35 minutes at Anfield – not the easiest debut but he did brilliant. He already has a great connection with the fans.
“He’s player who can have that mix between playing good football with his feet and also running the space, You could see his speed.”
But Mudryk still has to deal with the pressure of that astronomical price tag. “He’s very confident,” said Azpilicueta (left). “The price tag? It’s there but we players don’t make the prices, it’s a market and when you are in the market you have competition to get players so I don’t think it has to lie on his shoulders.
“He just has to express himself the way he has been doing. It’s great to see his energy and he will be a very important player.”
But he wasn’t enough for Chelsea to get more than a point, with both sides wondering if they blew a big chance to close the gap on the top four.
There were chances in the game but neither side really deserved three points despite some impressive defending from the likes of Kop leftback Andy Robertson (circled, bottom).
Chelsea have signed six players in this transfer window while 12 are currently out injured. They were hoping to build on a win over Crystal Palace last weekend as they bid to keep their top-four hopes alive so a point was not really good enough.
“Of
course after a win against Palace we wanted to build on that,” added Azpilicueta. “But we got another clean sheet.
“It’s true we are not where we want to be but hopefully we will have some players back soon.”
The stalemate at Anfield should not have come as a huge surprise given the pattern of recent meetings between the two sides.
Both Premier League matches last season finished all square and both the
League Cup final and FA Cup final finished goalless before
Liverpool beat the
Londoners on penalties each time.