December 28th 2023.
Noni Madueke was the unlikely hero for Chelsea after scoring the match-winning penalty against Crystal Palace.
Although Mauricio Pochettino had initially planned for captain Conor Gallagher to take it, he gave the nod to the former PSV winger who, despite struggling for game time, showed no signs of nerves as he coolly rolled the ball past Dean Henderson.
Afterwards, Madueke revealed that he had no doubt that he was the right choice for the job, saying, "The penalty was always going to be mine. I'm confident from the spot, I just told Conor [Gallagher] don't worry, I will score."
The victory was a much-needed one for Chelsea, who had missed several chances to secure the three points, with Nicolas Jackson in particular guilty of some wasteful finishing. Nevertheless, Pochettino was full of praise for Madueke's confidence and hunger to take on the responsibility, saying, "I said to him it's you but if you're not confident enough give it Noni. I am so glad and so happy. He came from the bench and showed this hunger and confidence."
The Argentinean also had a warning for his young team, insisting that they need to show him that he can trust them in order to succeed. He said, "They need to show me that I can trust, The mentality is really important, more so in the Premier League. You can't only play with quality. Of course, you need quality but if you don't have the right mentality or the right approach in every single day, in training and then the games, it is difficult to perform."
Madueke himself admitted that the last few months have been a bit stop-start for him, but he was delighted to have played his part in the victory. He said, "It's a big moment for me. This is what we do it for, those type of moments, and I'm just happy to get the team three points."
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