Joao Pedro was back in the Chelsea team and back among the goals in Saturday’s big win over Bournemouth, with the Brazilian continuing his impressive start to the campaign.
Injury ruled the striker out of our defeat at Brentford before the international break, and then stopped Joao Pedro linking up with the Selecao.
While it was a frustrating period for our number nine, the pause allowed him to fully recover ahead of the Cherries’ visit. He duly responded with two typically well-taken second-half goals, taking his Premier League tally this season to five.
‘It was a brilliant game,’ said Joao Pedro.
‘The international break was a long time. We had time to work, to fix the mistakes against Brentford, and we got a great result.
‘Of course, you want to win with a clean sheet, so we need to keep working. Hopefully the next game we can get that, but it was a great game and three more points.’
Our front three once again looked potent, with Cole Palmer registering an assist and Morgan Rogers scoring as we continued our happy knack of finding the net early.
Joao Pedro is clearly enjoying playing alongside that duo, and he offered some insight into why our attack are working so well in tandem.
‘We work hard. We try to know each other more every day and try to improve, so that’s why we can show our quality in the game.
‘When you play close together, you can decide the game, and we showed that again. For me, I just try to be healthy and help my team-mates, and then we’ll see what I can achieve.’
It helps when others chip in with goals and that was very much the case on Saturday, with Stamford Bridge debutant Jordan Henderson spectacularly finding the net in each half.
The 36-year-old’s performance came as no surprise to Joao Pedro, who has observed what the midfielder offers this Blues group.
‘He is a brilliant player, he has had a lot of years in the Premier League and he is experienced. That’s why he joined us, to help us, and he showed he’s a top, top player.
‘He brings experience, he helps everyone, us in front, the guys at the back, he is a special player and he showed his qualities.’