Christopher Nkunku was a big talking point with Chelsea supporters on social media after his pre-season display in the defeat to Manchester City.
Chelsea have just suffered a 4-2 loss to Premier League rivals Man City during a friendly match in the United States, where everyone was reminded of the risks that come from playing out of defence. Man City secured victory through Erling Haaland’s hat-trick and an Oscar Bobb goal, but they can all be traced back to sloppy losses of possession.
Blues head coach Enzo Maresca is set in his ways of implementing possession-based football, but it’s obvious his players are still working out the patterns of play during these early weeks of the process.
Maresca previously warned Chelsea they’ll concede goals with their style, something that has cropped up a number of times already on the pre-season tour. Hopefully, they become much less frequent by the time the campaign starts as the squad adjusts further to the methods.
Christopher Nkunku of Chelsea runs with the ball during the Pre-Season Friendly match between Chelsea FC and Manchester City at Ohio Stadium on Au...
Chelsea fans think they know Christopher Nkunku’s best position
Many Chelsea supporters are now insisting that Christopher Nkunku is much better as an attacking midfielder rather than a centre-forward after watching his 90 minutes versus Man City.
The versatile 26-year-old attacker lead the line as Chelsea’s central striker, but did drop deeper in the second-half when Marc Guiu was introduced to the action. In fairness, he immediately picked up the ball and played a lovely through ball to create a Guiu attempt.
Here are some Chelsea fans on X saying they much prefer Nkunku a bit deeper:
One fan said: “Maresca hope you’re taking notes… Nkunku is best utilized as a 8/10 not a 9.”
Another wrote: “Nkunku plays better at every position except as a no.9…it’s evident now.”
A third posted: “Nkunku dropping deep and we create a decent chance. Nkunku should have no business in the number 9 position next season.”
One supporter claimed: “That build up was crazy. Nkunku should not play CF again. Let him play behind the striker.”
Another user shared: “Nkunku much better from deep. Elite ball carrying.”
Christopher Nkunku has busy but frustrating night
Nkunku was denied a goalscoring chance in each by Man City, so his match could’ve looked a lot different if things had gone his way.
It was very encouraging for him to get a full 90 minutes into his legs as the pre-season schedule cranks up in intensity. Hopefully, he’s fit and firing by the time the new league season begins on 18 August, which is ironically at home to Man City.
FotMob has provided the match statistics from Nkunku’s individual display against Man City.
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