Mykhailo Mudryk has finally given Chelsea fans a glimpse of his potential with a wonderful goal against Brighton in pre-season.
The Ukranian, who was signed for £88million last January, hasn’t had it easy upon his arrival, going 17 games without a goal for the Blues.
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In a cameo debut against Liverpool in the Premier League he looked the part with his incredible speed and technique.
But as the west Londoners saw their season slump, ending in a 12th-place finish, he was unable to showcase his talents.
He took part in their opening friendly with Wrexham but against the Seagulls he came alive as a second-half substitute.
On for Ian Maatsen, the 22-year-old kicked off the move on the left flank.
He weaved through two Brighton opponents, deftly clipping the ball over their dangled legs, after combining with new signing Nicolas Jackson.
And, after a cute lobbed nudge from the Senegal international, Mudryk fired home superbly beyond Bart Verbruggen.
Clearly delighted, he wheeled away celebrating with a weight off his shoulders.
And later on during the victory, against 10 men after Jan Paul van Hecke’s two bookable offences, he showed his incredible pace to keep the ball in play and almost create another goal.
Danny Welbeck had got Brighton off to a fine start in the US before a Christopher Nkunku strike made it 1-1 at the break.
Mudryk’s goal came after the red card, swiftly followed by a close-range Conor Gallagher effort and a fine effort from Jackson who had beaten the offside trap.
But Roberto De Zerbi’s men weren’t done with Joao Pedro scoring a penalty after a clumsy Levi Colwill challenge, and Deniz Undav struck to complete the 4-3 scoreline.
And while Mudryk’s goal will certainly be the talk of the town, a man of the match display from Jackson, with a goal and two assists, will give new manager Mauricio Pochettino hope their striker hunt is finally over.
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