Chelsea star urged to learn from mistake as ‘brilliant’ forward adds ‘something different’ | OneFootball

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink liked what he saw from Christopher Nkunku.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink hopes Levi Colwill will “learn from his mistake” in Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Crystal Palace on Wednesday, as the former Blues striker hailed one of Mauricio Pochettino’s forwards who provides “something different”.

Mykhaylo Mudryk gave Chelsea an early lead at Stamford Bridge but Michael Olise drew Palace level just before the break, chesting the ball down at the back post before firing a shot past Djordje Petrovic.

The Palace winger was left unmarked after some poor defensive work from Colwill, and Hasselbaink says it’s the sort of moment the young Blues star must learn from.

“From a Chelsea point of view, they’re going to be disappointed,” Hasselbaink told Amazon Prime in his half-time analysis.

“If you look at what Colwill does, he goes and attacks the ball. He doesn’t have to.

“He gets underneath the ball. If he stayed in his position, he would have headed the ball away and Olise cannot take a touch. He is learning. Hopefully he learns from this mistake.

“When they were winning 1-0, you always felt they needed the second just to calm them down.

“[To concede at half-time] is heartbreaking because it’s the second or third phase from a free-kick. If you stay normal in your organisation, you should be able to defend that.”

Meanwhile, Hasselbaink heaped praise on Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku, who was making his full debut for the club having scored a goal off the bench against Wolves last time out.

“He’s brilliant,” Hasselbaink added. “He gives them something different. He gives them calmness. Give him the ball and he will get something going. He has got quality, a lot of quality.”

Mauricio Pochettino picked out fellow forward Noni Madueke for praise after the game, with the young Englishman winning and scoring the penalty to earn the Blues all three points having come on in the second half.

“He (Madueke) played free,” said the manager. “He did what we needed in this moment. I liked it because he showed he was upset with me, disappointed with me because he didn’t play too much. (He thought) ‘Now I’m going to show the coach he can trust in me’.

“We are not a charity, we are a football club. We need to perform. We are here to try and help the players to perform.

“Sometimes we need to be tough. We need to show the reality. Sometimes we need to put (the players) in front of the mirror and say ‘come on, that is not the player that is going to perform’.

“We have an amazing group, but they need to realise that to compete at Chelsea is not (the same) as to compete at another club.

“It’s about winning, about lifting trophies and making history. It’s about respecting the history of the club.

“They need to show me that I can trust them. The mentality is really important. You can not only play with you quality. You have to have quality, but if you don’t have the right mentality and approach every single day, it’s difficult to perform.”