In Nottingham Forest’s 3-1 victory away to Newcastle, Anthony Elanga made amends with two assists.
In the first half of Tuesday’s (December 26) match at St. James’ Park, the Swede infuriated the crowd by shooting himself instead of setting up Chris Wood for a cross, causing Martin Dubravka to make a simple save.
There was a lot of fan comparison between Elanga’s decision not to play Wood in and Raheem Sterling’s decision to shoot in Chelsea’s loss to Wolves, even though Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson were both in ideal positions to tap in the ball.
“Same issue with sterling,” was harshly said by a user of One X (previously known as Twitter). One commenter suggested the ex-Manchester United winger “Should be immediately subbed off” because “these coaches don’t discipline players enough anymore.”
After Morgan Gibbs-White played in Elanga, the Forest forward set up Wood for a simple tap-in to equalize just before halftime. Elanga’s inclusion on the field proved to be a boon for the team.Eight minutes after halftime, the Swede was back at it again, this time setting up a through pass for the Kiwi, who expertly beĐ°t Dan Burđťš— and dinked the ball over Dubravka for a brace. In his return to St. James’ Park, the New Zealand star put on a show, scoring a three trÎąck to give Forest its first Premier League victory since November.
Pochettino describes Nkunku’s best position at Chelsea
The Premier League resumes after Christmas on December 27, and manager Mauricio Pochettino had another opportunity to talk about new sensation Christopher Nkunku before Chelsea’s match against Crystal Palace on December 27.
Since the Frenchman was arguably the finest player in the Bundesliga the previous season—even better than Robert Lewandowski—the Blues signed Nkunku to a pre-arranged deal with RB Leipzig last winter.
Depending on Leipzig’s needs, Nkunku has been one of Europe’s most prolific players since breĐ°king out in the 2019–20 season. He can score goals or set up teammates for them.
Because of his breakthrough, Timo Werner was able to produce a lot of work and then try to go to London, but he was unsuccessful.
Rather than seeing Nkunku as a flank option, Pochettino thinks he would be more effective in the middle of the field as a 9 or 10.His evaluation of his new top star, made by the former Tottenham manager, is, unsurprisingly, spot on. When Leipzig needed goals following Werner’s exit, Nkunku would play as a 9 or 10, shifting further forward in the formation.
In the 2019–20 season, the 26-year-old had 13 assists while playing the role of a playmaking 10. In the 202–22 season, he absolutely explĐľded with 20 goals and 13 assists, solidifying his status as a genuine Ballon d’Or contender for RB Leipzig.
The Leipzig superstar had a completely new job to fulfill last season: that of the starting nine up front. He was outstanding, contributing 16 goals to a squad that was missing a star player with his goal-scoring prowess.
Despite taking on more scoring duties, he maintained a respectable 1.6 critical passes per game in addition to three combined dribble completions and fouls drawn per game.
In his first game back in the Premier League, Nkunku scored, proving to Pochettino and Chelsea supporters that he will be a star in England’s top division.
He has world-class intuition and is most effective when positioned in the middle of the field, where he can have an immediate influence on the game as a scorer or playmaker.
Although Nkunku can also play on the wings as a support striker, Poch should start by starting him in the center of the field.