'A lot of work' - Rosenior shares what Joao Pedro had done in training before Chelsea hat-trick
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Liam Rosenior highlighted the work that Chelsea striker Joao Pedro had done in training before scoring his first Premier League hat-trick in Wednesday's 4-1 win over Aston Villa.
Joao Pedro has now bagged 14 goals in the Premier League and 17 goals overall in all competitions for Chelsea this season.
Ten of these goals (eight in the Premier League) have been in 2026, which suggests that the 24-year-old has only improved as a number nine since joining the club in the summer.
Playing more regularly as a number nine under Rosenior, rather than having to occasionally operate as a number 10 under Enzo Maresca, has certainly helped.
However, Rosenior argued that Joao Pedro's effort in training to improve his positioning has also played a big part.
"So happy," Rosenior told Chelsea's in-house media team when speaking about Joao Pedro's hat-trick.
"His finish with his left foot over the goalkeeper is world-class.
"His movement for the two other goals - we'd done a lot of work with Joao in terms of his positioning in the box.
"They're the goals that make me so happy, the tap-ins when you're in the middle of the goal.
"Joao is an incredible player. I'm lucky to work with a lot of incredible players, but we have to make sure we perform as a team."
Chelsea had struggled with consistent goalscorers in the last several years, with Cole Palmer, an attacking midfielder, leading the club's goalscoring charts in two of the last three seasons.
It is, therefore, such a relief to have Joao Pedro provide reliable output in front of the goal in the last couple of months.
Gerry Crisandy is a freelance writer who has covered Chelsea for many years. His work has been published on The Chelsea Chronicle and Pride of London. He grew up idolising Michael Ballack and is a firm believer in expected goals.