Chelsea secured their first back-to-back clean sheets since October on Saturday afternoon with a hard-fought 0-0 draw at Liverpool. The contest at Anfield provided an opportunity for Mykhailo Mudryk to show why the Blues coughed up £88million for his services and there were plenty of positives.
Mudryk replaced Lewis Hall in the 55th minute in Merseyside and came close to marking his debut in perfect fashion with a chance squandered from close range. The 22-year-old showed terrific quick feet to beat James Milner and Joe Gomez inside the area before firing his left-footed strike into the side-netting.
The game was Mudryk's first appearance since November 23, possibly allowing for his rustiness in front of goal. However, his debut for his new club will all but inject an influx of positivity amongst the Chelsea fanbase going forward.
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After the goalless draw, a result that moves Chelsea eight points behind Newcastle in the top four, Rio Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard were vocal in their praise for Mudryk for the glimpses of quality shown. "We’ve all seen clips of his explosive pace, but I saw someone there with soft feet today," Ferdinand said.
"Someone who’s got a good weight of pass, good decision-making in the final third, the calmness running at speed - those elements there make it a frightening proposition running at a full-back when he gets into full flow.
"These are only his first minutes in a month or so, so who knows what he’s going to be producing after this. It’s an exciting moment for Chelsea fans and I’m sure there will be Arsenal fans sitting there going, 'oh my days, how did we let this one go'."
Gerrard seconded Ferdinand's verdict on the Ukraine international, comparing him to the ex-Blues winger Arjen Robben. "I would be really excited about the new kid, Mudryk, if I was a Chelsea fan going away, I thought that was a strong cameo, and if he’s not fit and there’s more to come in that department then I know Chelsea fans will be really excited.
"He looks the real deal, some of his clips today were outstanding. He reminded me a little bit of Arjen Robben here today, his footwork, how quick he is, how he manipulates the ball, I would be very excited if I was Chelsea."
Former Premier League right-back Gary Neville took to Twitter to insist he wouldn't like to come up against Mudryk. He tweeted: "Seeing Mudryk for 10 mins I wouldn’t like to play against him!"
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