Enzo Maresca’s reaction said it all as Joao Pedro bagged his first goals for the club to send Chelsea into the Club World Cup final.
Just days after joining from Brighton in a £60million deal, Pedro has already endeared himself to the Blues faithful on his second outing after scoring both goals in a 2-0 semi-final win over Fluminense.
Pedro opened his Chelsea account in emphatic fashionFIFA via GettyIn the 18th minute, Fluminense star and former Blues skipper Thiago Silva comfortably swatted away Pedro Neto’s fizzed cross from the left, but it only landed as far as Pedro on the left edge of the box.
The Brazilian, who made his first start for the club, controlled Silva’s clearance and took a touch to compose himself before he unleashed a powerful curling effort past Fluminense goalkeeper Fabio.
Pedro, who spent nine years at Fluminense as a youngster, immediately raised his hands as if to apologise to their supporters for scoring.
However, his teammates had other ideas as they immediately mobbed the 23-year-old.
But the greatest reaction of the bunch was reserved for Blues boss Maresca, who had his mouth agape for a number of seconds after Pedro’s effort slammed into the back of the net.
Pictures also showed Neto was in disbelief, as he raced over to Pedro with his hands on his head.
Pedro doubled Chelsea’s advantage in the 56th minute as he capped off a rapid counter attack.
Just as Cole Palmer was about to be dispossessed, he played an intelligent backheel to Enzo Fernandez in the centre circle.
With acres of space and endless time, Fernandez played a perfectly-weighted pass into Pedro, who was isolated on the left.
The Brazilian drove towards goal and into the box, where he fired in a thunderbolt of a strike off the underside of the bar and into the net.
DAZNMaresca couldn’t believe Pedro’s first goal…[/caption] Nor could teammate Pedro NetoFIFA via GettyOnce again, Pedro held his hands up and refused to celebrate.
As for Maresca, he didn’t quite have the same reaction as he gave a few fist pumps before dishing out some tactical instructions to his troops.
The goal would be Pedro’s final act on the pitch as Maresca replaced him with Nicolas Jackson on the hour mark.
But his double has seen him join an exclusive Chelsea club who has scored a double on their first start, with Michy Batshuayi, Demba Ba, Oscar and Jesper Gronkjaer also achieving the feat.
It was an immensely successful starting debut for the 23-year-old, having previously enjoyed his first minutes via a second-half cameo during the Blues’ 2-1 win over Palmeiras in the quarter-finals.
Regardless, Maresca will undoubtedly have been pleased from what Pedro offered as attention now turns towards Sunday’s final against either Paris Saint-Germain or Real Madrid.
The Brazilian refused to celebrate either of his goals against FluminenseGettyPedro officially joined Chelsea on July 2 and signed a long-term contract until 2032.
The Blues shelled out an initial £56million to sign Pedro, with an extra £4m in add-ons.
Pedro was linked with a switch to Newcastle, but it is understood that the player only wanted to move to Stamford Bridge despite both clubs being able to guarantee Champions League football.
The 23-year-old also became the fourth player to leave Brighton for the west London outfit since 2022, with Marc Cucurella, Robert Sanchez and Moises Caicedo all making the switch in previous years.
Pedro’s big money move also meant Brighton have recouped just shy of £300m in fees from Chelsea in the last three years.
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