Christopher Nkunku has become the 27th Chelsea player to score on his Premier League debut (Photo: Getty)
Mauricio Pochettino says Christopher Nkunku has already shown how ‘important’ he will be for Chelsea after he scored on his Premier League debut.
Nkunku’s goal was possibly the only good thing that came out of Chelsea’s Christmas Eve clash against Wolves, as the Blues lost 2-1 at Molineux.
As has been the case for much of the season, the away side lacked clinicalness in front of goal, allowing Wolves to take the lead through Mario Lemina.
Matt Doherty looked to have sealed all three points with a goal in injury time, but Nkunku headed in Raheem Sterling’s cross in the 96th minute to set up a grandstand finish.
The French forward came off the bench just before the hour, replacing Lesley Ugochukwu, to make his Premier League debut, just a few days after making his much awaited Chelsea debut in the Carabao Cup win over Newcastle.
The 26-year-old, who was signed from RB Leipzig for £52million, had been sidelined with a knee injury since pre-season and the Blues have struggled in his absence.
Sunday’s defeat means they stay 10th in the table – 14 points off the top four – and have now lost 19 league games in 2023, the most of any club.
Pochettino is hoping therefore that Nkunku can be their saviour, saying post-match: ‘I’m very pleased to see Nkunku score and it shows how important he can be for us.
‘We cannot put too much pressure on him, he’s been out for a very long time and that is why he came on after 60 minutes – to help ease him in.
‘He’s a quality player who can score goals and we are pleased he did that today, although of course we are disappointed not to win the game.
‘Christo needs time to arrive in this way but we are very confident in him to get to his best and be a key player for us.’
Naturally, Nkunku himself has mixed feelings on the Wolves loss, posting this message to fans on Instagram:
‘Although the result is frustrating I am happy to have scored my first goal in Blue.
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‘Merry Christmas and see you next week at the bridge.’
Nkunku has become the 27th Chelsea player to score on his Premier League debut and the first to do so as a substitue since Alvaro Morata in 2017.
He’ll be hoping to add to his account on 27th December when the Blues host out-of-form Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge.
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‘We are very confident in him to get to his best and be a key player for us.’