Chelsea beat Fluminense 2-0 in the Club World Cup semi-final to set up a clash with the marauding Paris Saint-Germain in the final.
Joao Pedro, Chelsea’s new signing from Brighton, scored a brace to guide the Royal Blues to victory.
Pedro’s performance vindicated the faith the Royal Blues had put in the 24-year-old Brazilian forward. However, it also presents them with a dilemma as far as their team selection is concerned.
It will not be easy for them to accommodate Pedro in their playing XI next season. The Blues finished fourth in the Premier League table last season and will want to compete for the title next season.
Joao Pedro: Not Just a No. 9
Chelsea have been fielding their team in a 4-2-3-1 formation under Enzo Maresca, with Nicolas Jackson as their lone striker until the end of last season.
However, with the inclusion of Pedro and Rory Delap in the team, the West Londoners now have three strikers vying for the role of the No. 9.
Pedro scored both the goals against Fluminense with shots from outside the box after cutting in through the inside-left channel.
This means that the Brazilian could be used as a left winger at times. With both Jadon Sancho and Noni Madueke having left Chelsea, Pedro could provide them with a feasible option on the left flank.
This will allow the Royal Blues to continue playing with the same formation and have either Delap or Jackson as the centre-forward. Pedro’s pace and ability on the ball mean that he could very well adjust to the new role.
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A Formation Change?
Another option for Maresca is to switch to a 3-5-2 formation. That will allow them to have three players – Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer – as central midfielders and Reece James and Marc Cucurella as the wing-backs.
That will still allow them to have Delap and Pedro as the two forwards. Pedro’s work rate means he can fall back into the middle third at times to create moves, which makes him the perfect choice as a second striker.
That will push Jackson to the bench, with the Senegalese appearing to be the third-choice striker for the Blues at the moment.
Chelsea have Trevoh Chalobah, Levi Colwill and Tosin, who could play as the back-three. Both James and Cucurella are good going forward and should have no problem in switching to the wing-back role.
Another option for the West Londoners is to play Cole Palmer as the right-winger and accommodate Pedro as the No. 10.
However, that might reduce Palmer’s influence on the team, and Maresca might not risk that. Moreover, Pedro Neto is well-settled in the right-winger’s role, and Chelsea might not want to tinker with his position.
It will be interesting to see which approach the Chelsea manager adopts next season. He will have to make some changes to his existing set-up to accommodate both Pedro and Delap in his playing XI.
Going by Pedro’s ability and form, it can be assumed that Maresca will do the necessary adjustments to make him play.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Nicolo Campo
Recording Date: 08.07.2025