In a season dominated with talk about Callum Hudson-Odoi’s debut season and whether or not it will be Eden Hazard’s last with the club, Pedro’s contribution has often been overlooked.
Pedro’s goals in the Europa League have been vital for Chelsea’s run in the competition.
His goal against Eintracht Frankfurt could be one of his most important goals for Chelsea this season, as it helped them reach the Europa League final. It also meant that Pedro had scored in back-to-back Europa League fixtures after bagging two against Slavia Prague in the quarter-finals.
The Spaniard has contributed eight goals this campaign in 31 league appearances; more than Willian, Olivier Giroud and Hudson-Odoi combined. Yet he’s hardly received the praise he deserves.
The most the 31-year-old has scored for Chelsea in a Premier League campaign is nine back in 2016/17, which shows he’s had another solid season at the Bridge. He also managed to achieve this in four games less than that particular campaign.
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Chelsea’s goalscoring woes
Chelsea weren’t able to keep up with Manchester City and Liverpool this season, and their lack of a prolific goalscorer hindered any chances they might have had.
As already pointed out, Willian and Giroud have had poor seasons and haven’t contributed as expected from the Chelsea faithful.
Maurizio Sarri brought in Gonzalo Higuain, although a contribution of just five league goals has been a pretty disappointing return for the on-loan striker, who has failed to adjust to the demands of the Premier League.
Premier League betting suggests Man City and Liverpool will compete again for the title, with Chelsea being the outsiders. Despite this, Chelsea have secured Champions League football for next season.
Pedro looks set to finish the season as Chelsea’s joint-second-highest goalscorer depending on the final match of the season, which is the Europa League final against city rivals Arsenal.
Pedro’s squad role
If Hazard is to leave in the summer, and with Chelsea currently under a two-year transfer ban, Pedro may be called upon more next season. He’s often a threat off the bench and still holds plenty of pace – which is the last thing defenders want to face with 20 or 30 minutes left on the clock.
“Chelsea fans” (CC BY 2.0) by Ben Sutherland
Expectations at Chelsea remain high. This may be why Pedro hasn’t proven all that popular at the Bridge, mainly for failing to hit the ten-goal mark in the league since arriving from Barcelona in 2015.
His game is so much more than just scoring, however, as he works tirelessly off the ball for his teammates which often goes unappreciated.
He’s the perfect squad player and if he was to leave Chelsea in the summer, he would be missed more than fans would realise, as is usually the case with the best squad players.
