Several pundits heaped praise on Pedro Neto after he played a starring role as Chelsea beat Benfica in the Champions League, with a second Blues man also dominating on Tuesday night.
The match saw Jose Mourinho return to Stamford Bridge, with the legendary manager serenaded by Chelsea fans on numerous occasions. However, he did not get the result he was looking for as Chelsea won 1-0 to get their European campaign up and running and ease pressure on Enzo Maresca.
Neto was Chelsea’s biggest threat, giving Benfica left-back Samuel Dahl an absolute nightmare.
Neto had a hand in the only goal, sending a deep cross to Alejandro Garnacho at the back post, whose pull-back was turned in for an own goal by the unlucky Richard Rios.
But Neto’s performance was about much more than that. Dahl simply could not deal with his pace, trickery or ability to go either way.
In the 11th minute, he went on his right foot and took on Dahl before crossing for Garnacho, who dragged his shot wide.
Just six minutes later, Neto cut inside on his favoured left foot before sending a powerful drive narrowly wide of the post.
On TNT Sports, Blues legend Joe Cole billed the Portuguese winger as ‘Chelsea’s best player’ on the night.
“Neto has been brilliant, he’s the unsung hero of this Chelsea team, the fans will tell you that,” the pundit said.
“He delivers and is always positive. He’s been Chelsea’s best player tonight. He’s a bright spark, very consistent.
“He’s fast becoming a fans’ favourite at Stamford Bridge. He was Chelsea’s best player tonight by a mile.
“It was a decent performance from Chelsea, it wasn’t spectacular and I’ve seen them play better.
“But the most important thing was the result, they needed that win and now they can prepare for a massive game against Liverpool at the weekend.”
Fellow pundit Owen Hargreaves joined in on the praise by saying of Neto: “I thought he was Chelsea’s best player.
“He makes things happens, he’s so positive and explosive and quick. That’s the thing I like about him. It feels like Neto was the one creating a lot of the chances.
“Pedro Neto was by far the best player on the pitch. He was the star of the show for me.”
Co-commentator Ally McCoist thinks Neto outshone Garnacho, despite the latter having an even bigger hand in the winning goal.
“I think he [Garnacho] has done alright,” McCoist said.
“He did well for the goal clearly but he was overshadowed by his team-mate on the other flank. He’s done fine but Pedro Neto was the pick of the bunch for me tonight. He’s been terrific.”
Moises Caicedo commanded the midfield, and his great performance also led to praise from Cole.
“I thought he was outstanding. Every time we watch him we’re blown away by him. He was just pickpocketing people. Mr Calm,” the former England international said.
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“They could not move. He was nicking it off them, he was finding passes, he was brilliant. It was getting to the point where the Benfica midfielders were receiving the ball and they were petrified. He was everywhere.”
Remarkably, there was yet another red card for Chelsea, with Joao Pedro being dismissed for a high boot deep into stoppage time.
Robert Sanchez and Trevoh Chalobah have both been sent off in recent weeks, while Nicolas Jackson was dismissed twice towards the end of last season.
But overall Maresca will be delighted with the result following recent defeats to Manchester United, Brighton & Hove Albion and Bayern Munich.
The win will give Chelsea confidence as they prepare to host Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. The performances of Neto and Caicedo could be crucial if Chelsea are to pick up any points from the clash.
Chelsea news: Battle for signing; Fernandez exit?
Meanwhile, Chelsea and Man Utd are tussling for the capture of a world-class French star, sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk.
Blues leader Enzo Fernandez has regularly been linked with a move to Real Madrid and such speculation re-emerged last week.