Mykhailo Mudryk showed glimpses of why Chelsea paid £88.5million for him with an inspirational performance for Ukraine.
The winger shook off the rust from a very difficult first six months at Stamford Bridge as he managed two delightful assists in a comeback win over North Macedonia.
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Ukraine are in the same Euro 2024 qualifying group as England, and looked like they might be in trouble away at North Macedonia.
They were heading for two defeats out of two after finding themselves 2-0 down going into the break.
However, Ukraine – and Mudryk – came to life in the second half after Bournemouth’s Illya Zabarnyi had halved the deficit.
Picking up the ball near the halfway line, Mudryk showed his electric pace that has often been missing at Chelsea and took on three defenders, bursting past them all before angling a ball into the box.
Yukhym Konoplya put the pullback away to level the score, but Mudryk was far from done.
With 83 minutes on the clock, the 22-year-old showed he’s more than just a speed merchant.
Collecting the ball on the far side of the pitch, he spotted a darting run from Viktor Tsyhankov.
Curling a perfect pass over the defence, it reached the Girona midfielder who brilliantly nodded home the matchwinner.
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With two assists in a single game, Mudryk matched his entire output since signing for Chelsea from Shakhtar Donetsk.
Yet to score for the Blues in 17 appearances, Mudryk was one of many who struggled in an awful campaign for Chelsea.
And he will be looking to get back to his best next season under Mauricio Pochettino.
