Christopher Nkunku is such a silky, elegant player that his goal on Saturday night looked a little unusual. Handed the ball in a tight space, back to goal, he made a quick turn to shrug off the defenders surrounding him and poked the ball in at the far post.
It looked ugly, but the more you saw of it the more impressive it was. The awareness of where he was, the defenders were and the goal was. The strength to hold off the Bournemouth players, and then the technique to squeeze a shot it on the turn with no backlift.
It is the exactly thing we’ve wanted from Nkunku all along – that little touch of quality just when the team needs it to turn 1 point into 3. Just imagine how much better last season could have been with him fit all year.
Former Blue impressed by both goal and assist
Gary Cahill was speaking on the Premier League’s official website, and he had some interesting things to say about the game winning effort.
“We spoke about Sancho, his impact in the second half, great ball in, and I think Nkunku, I am not sure how much he knew about the turn, to be honest,” the former Chelsea defender said.
“It’s almost like his momentum and determination got him on the end of that, used his body very well, very strong, yeah, and got the decisive goal. But again, Sancho, positive, wasn’t he? He was really positive in the second half.”
What Cahill doesn’t mention is how much that goal had an Eden Hazard like energy – the low centre of gravity and strength to turn despite the attention of several opposition players – and the sheer ability to find the back of the net.