Renato Veiga played his first minutes in Chelsea colours during Saturday’s pre-season loss against Celtic.
Chelsea’s second friendly match of their pre-season tour in the United States ended in a disappointing 4-1 defeat to Celtic, but plenty of the squad got more useful minutes into their legs.
For Blues head coach Enzo Maresca, he’s learning more and more about his group of players as he adapts to his new position.
Renato Veiga, 20, was an unused substitute earlier in the week during the draw against Wrexham. However, the summer signing got some late minutes against Celtic and a brief debut.
The versatile youngster replaced Levi Colwill on the left of defence, but he can play a variety of positions. Speaking via Chelsea’s official website recently, Veiga said he’s comfortable in several different roles.
Chelsea fans encouraged by Renato Veiga debut
There wasn’t a great deal to go off as Veiga only featured for the final 10 minutes against Celtic, coming on when his side were already 4-0 behind. However, he’s done enough to grab the attention of many Chelsea supporters on social media.
Here are some Blues fans on X praising the Veiga cameo:
One fan said: “Veiga is very aggressive. I love it.”
Another wrote: “It’s very early but Veiga might have that smart defensive gene. Good body posture/orientation, timing on when to step in front or behind for the contest.”
One supporter posted: “A few terrible performances but I like Renato Veiga at LCB.”
Another claimed: “Veiga looks good in that 10 minutes. Tidy and assured with his passes and decisions. Will like to see him for 45 minutes in next game.”
Finally, one fan said: “Really want to see more of Veiga on Wednesday. One of the few bright spots today, albeit briefly.”
Much more to come from Renato Veiga
Now that Veiga has had his first outing with Chelsea, let’s hope he gets plenty more minutes on this pre-season tour to try and force his way into contention for next season.
FotMob data has provided the match statistics from Veiga’s individual contribution against Celtic:
- Match rating- 6.3
- Minutes played – 10
- Touches – 12
- Accurate passes – 4/5
- Recoveries – 2
- Interceptions – 1
- Clearances – 1
The fact he can play as a centre-back, left-back or midfielder means he could be a really useful addition to the squad. It would be great to find out more on if he’s ready for the main Chelsea group.
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