Enzo Maresca backs Mykhailo Mudryk to shine for Chelsea after 'slow' progress

Enzo Maresca has admitted that Mykhailo Mudryk’s progress under his coaching has been “slow” compared to his Chelsea teammates, but backed the winger to kick-on after his fine show against Panathanikos.

Mudryk went into the Conference League group stage meeting in Greece without a goal in any competition this season and having been left out of the match day squad for Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Liverpool.

However, the Ukrainian responded with one of his best displays in a Chelsea shirt, scoring one goal and creating two others for Joao Felix in a 4-1 win.

“I’m very happy, not for me but for him,” Maresca said. “We as a staff, we spend a long, long time to help the players; not only Misha but the whole squad. Since we started, we are working with Misha and all the wingers to arrive in the box, into the position where Misha scored.

“He struggled to arrive there and now he is starting to arrive there. That is where we are going to score goals. It’s for him, it’s for Jadon [Sancho], it’s for Noni [Madueke], it’s for Pedro [Neto] - all of the wingers. They need to be in position because the ball is going to arrive in that position.”

Mudryk’s struggles since his £89million arrival at Stamford Bridge almost two years ago have been well-documented, with the 23-year-old struggling to live up to that hefty fee.

The former Shakhtar Donetsk’s player’s goal in Athens was just his eighth in 67 appearances for the Blues and he was replaced at half-time in the only Premier League game he has started this season, away to Wolves in August.

“We want the best for Misha,” Maresca added. “Since day one, we are trying to help Misha.

“Probably for him, he is one of the guys that the learning process is more slow compared to the rest but he is improving. I’m sure that slowly, slowly we will have Misha scoring more goals and being important for us.”