Pitiful 3 of 12 duels won means this Maresca starter set to lose his place again | OneFootball

Pedro Neto and Noni Madueke have battled back and forth all season to be Chelsea’s first choice right winger.

It’s the position which has changed hands most often in Enzo Maresca’s setup, and it could be set to be handed back to Madueke next time out on today’s evidence.

The winger was dropped recently for poor performances in training, but clearly has done his time as he started on Monday night and came on as a late sub today.

It’s not so much Madueke’s performance in those two games which might get him in the team as much as Neto’s efforts in his last couple of starts. Today he was far too quiet.

SofaScore gave him a 6.7 rating, the lowest of any outfielder for Chelsea. That was in large part thanks to his dreadful efforts in terms of winning duels.

He contested 12 of them, second only to Enzo Fernandez in a Chelsea shirt. But the Portuguese won a pitiful 3 of those 12.

He also lost possession 14 times, managed just 2 attempted dribbles (neither of which was successful) and took one shot, which didn’t hit the target.

Neto’s numbers must improve if he wants to be right wing solution

Pedro Neto rues a missed chance against Crystal Palace. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

What is particularly frustrating is that the game was set up perfectly for the speedster – after Chelsea took the lead, Palace had to push higher and higher and leave more space in behind for the former Wolves man to exploit.

But he didn’t take advantage of it at all. We’ve seen flashes of what he can offer, and we see why he was bought. But until he really delivers with efficiency in front of goal, he will remain a frustrating character, and will continue to lose his place to Madueke with regularity.