Joao Pedro scored twice in Chelsea's 2-0 win over Fluminense in the FIFA Club World Cup semi-finals. In his first starting match, the former Brighton star left a huge impression with a superb double against Brazil.
Pedro joined Chelsea from Brighton for £55 million. Just reaching the FIFA Club World Cup final has helped The Blues pocket an additional 22 million pounds. Many people jokingly said that Pedro helped his home team get nearly half of the money spent to get his signature.
After scoring 2 goals, Joao Pedro chose not to celebrate because Fluminense was where he started his career as an U18 player. Those two goals by Pedro were a crystallization of the 23-year-old star's efforts over the past 3 years.
There was a time when he thought he would stop at Brighton as the top, but the opportunity for Chelsea was open. Right in the recent semi-final, Pedro proved that he was the one who had the most grasp of all efforts to be able to shine.
Chelsea will plan to spend about £230 million to buy players this summer, of course, in parallel with having to sell many surplus players. Up to now, Joao Pedro is the most expensive and oldest contract, so the pressure to shine immediately is present. However, the Brazilian striker did not disappoint everyone.
One of the reasons Chelsea are determined to buy Joao Pedro is his ability to play in many positions. From there, coach Enzo Maresca can freely arrange many attack options when having this star in hand. In the match against Fluminense, Pedro was arranged to play as a center forward but often dropped deep to coordinate with his teammates and found the corner to finish himself.
Enzo Maresca has spoken a lot about Chelsea having to own such a versatile striker to face the crowded defenses. At least for now, the Italian coach was right to bring Pedro to Stamford Bridge.
After the match, Fluminense captain Thiago Silva himself praised the late regent Joao Pedro. The former Chelsea star was impressed with what Pedro has done and hoped this young talent would develop even better in the future.
For Chelsea in recent years, they have often bought a lot but there are not many people who stay. It would be a big hurry to evaluate Joao Pedro as a successful signing after the recent semi-final match.
However, shining so brightly in his first start was always better for Joao Pedro, helping him avoid the pressure of the media, opening up a better direction in the coming time.
"For me, it's like a dream. I don't think that performance could have been any better" - Joao Pedro shared after the match.
