Liam Rosenior hailed Pedro Neto as ‘world-class’ following his hat-trick against Hull City, with the Blues head coach emphasising the Portugal international will be crucial in the Blues achieving our ambitions this season.
The 25-year-old was brought back into the side for our FA Cup fourth-round tie and produced a ruthless performance. Neto opened the scoring with an excellent strike from distance shortly before half-time, and scored directly from a corner early in the second period.
Following a goal from Estevao Willian, Neto completed his hat-trick by playing a neat one-two with Liam Delap inside the Tigers’ penalty area and slotting his finish into the corner.
Neto’s treble has moved him to ten goals in all competitions for Chelsea this term. He has also chipped in with four assists and Rosenior has praised not only the winger’s quality, but his willingness to cover team-mates and defend across the pitch.
‘Pedro Neto brings us so many different qualities that we need,’ Rosenior explained following our 4-0 victory on Humberside that sealed our place in Monday’s fifth-round draw.
‘For me, he’s a world-class player, a world-class winger. And what I love about him, as talented as he is and as gifted as he is, what he sacrifices for the team is top.
‘He's going to be really, really important for us for where I think we can get to and what we can achieve for the rest of the season.’