Chelsea: Joao Pedro heaps praise on Cole Palmer as Blues 'silence doubters' with Napoli win

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·28 janvier 2026

Chelsea: Joao Pedro heaps praise on Cole Palmer as Blues 'silence doubters' with Napoli win

Fit-again forward inspired Blues to comeback victory

Joao Pedro believes Chelsea’s win over Napoli will have silenced their doubters.

Vidéos OneFootball

The Brazilian was their matchwinner on Wednesday night as he scored two stunning second-half goals to help Chelsea recover from 2-1 down to win 3-2 and secure automatic progression to the Champions League round of 16.

They also knocked Napoli out in the process and were much-improved in the second half after a below-par first half, with Joao Pedro scoring the all-important goals.

“I am very happy for us, for the victory”, he told TNT Sports afterwards. “I think the team did a brilliant game. My goals, I try to do my best always to help my team-mates. Today I could score two brilliant goals so the important thing is the three points.

“The coach said to us to be positive. Try to be calm, put your game on the pitch. In the first half we didn’t do it that much, the second half was more open. I think that is why we scored two goals.”

Both his goals were teed up by the returning Cole Palmer, who Joao Pedro explained inspires Chelsea to be more creative: “I think everyone knows Cole is a brilliant player. When he is on the pitch you want to be different because he is a special player and we are happy to play with him.”

Joao Pedro, who is now Chelsea’s top scorer this season, added: “I think it is very positive for us. People have a lot of doubt about us. I think today we show our power, and it is very important for us to be already there. We are very happy and now we need to rest and focus on the Premier League.”