Joao Pedro signed from Brighton during the Club World Cup and instantly announced himself to Blues fans with a brilliant brace in the semi-final win over his former club Fluminense. He promptly scored the third goal as we demolished Paris Saint-Germain to lift the trophy.

Thrillingly, he has carried that form into the new Premier League season. With three games played, Joao Pedro leads the way in the division for combined goals and assists (four), alongside Everton’s Jack Grealish who has supplied four assists.

Constant impact

Only Erling Haaland (three goals) has scored more than Joao Pedro’s two, and only Grealish has provided more assists. Those figures speak to the 23-year-old’s creative and finishing ability, and he has outperformed both his Expected Goals (xG) and Expected Assists (xA) so far this season.

Joao Pedro is currently averaging 0.96 combined xG and xA per 90 minutes, highlighting just how much of an impact he is having on games. His average of 2.7 shots a match is the fifth-highest in the Premier League.

On the opening day, against Crystal Palace, Joao Pedro led the line before being replaced by Liam Delap during a hard-fought goalless draw in which space, and chances, were at a premium.

However, for the next fixture, away to West Ham, the Brazil international dropped into a deeper No.10 role from where he wreaked havoc behind Delap, scoring our equaliser and then laying on two more goals.

The touchmap below shows how he picked the ball up in deep areas to link our attacking play as we put the Hammers to the sword. It also highlights his willingness to help defensively when required.

Another aspect of Joao Pedro’s game that has stood out in these opening three fixtures is his aerial ability, and his threat from corners.

Corner contributions

If you exclude defenders, Joao Pedro ranks fourth in the league for aerial duels won per 90 minutes (3.3). He has a prodigious leap, as shown by his goal against West Ham, and he also displayed strength and bravery to get above his man and connect with the ball first.

His header against Fulham, also from a corner, was more about finding space in a packed box and then cleverly guiding his effort into the net.

Of the 22 league goals Joao Pedro netted for Watford and Brighton, three came from corners, including one for the Seagulls at Stamford Bridge.

Overall, six of his 54 goals for those two clubs in all competitions were scored from corners. That is a greater sample size and shows, at over 10 per cent, what a threat he can be from set-piece situations. It is a very useful string to his bow.

Defensive diligence

That applies defensively, too. His two blocks this season is the joint-highest figure for any attacking player in the league, with the second of those stopping a certain Fulham goal late on. Joao Pedro sensed the danger and retreated, finding himself in the perfect position to clear the ball off the line and preserve our clean sheet.

That was one of ten defensive contributions Joao Pedro made against Fulham, a figure bettered for us only by Tosin Adarabioyo and Trevoh Chalobah. He also won four fouls, notably holding the ball up to good effect to help us get up the pitch.

In scoring five goals in his first five starts for Chelsea, Joao Pedro has joined an exclusive group of players to have done just that in the Premier League era: Diego Costa, Alvaro Morata and Tammy Abraham.

Now, the Brazilian will be hoping to back up his awesome August with a super September, when the games start coming thick and fast.