Joao Pedro's impact at Chelsea since his arrival on July 2 has generally been as a No.9, as he and Liam Delap took turns to lead the line.

But the Brazilian has proven as far back as 2020 when he first arrived on these shores as an 18-year-old with Watford that he could be utilised in multiple positions.

During his time at Vicarage Road and then Brighton's Community Stadium the forward showed he could be effective not only as the leading striker but also in a deeper position centrally or off the left flank.

At London Stadium on Friday night, Joao Pedro was used behind Delap in the No.10 role that Cole Palmer has largely made his own since his own arrival two years ago.

When Joao Pedro was initially named in the starting XI alongside Palmer and Delap, there was the expectation he would play off the left, with Pedro Neto on the right and Palmer centrally behind Delap. Palmer's subsequent withdrawal during the warm-up saw Estevao Willian introduced to the XI and fans were intrigued to see how Joao Pedro would get on playing centrally behind Delap.

*Confusingly and counterintuitively, the above average positions visualisation has Chelsea in purple and West Ham in black, meaning Joao Pedro is the purple No.20.

However, in his post-match interview, Maresca appeared to suggest the intention was always to play Joao Pedro centrally against West Ham, with Pedro Neto on the left and Palmer - and then Estevao - coming inside off the right flank, with Malo Gusto providing the touchline width.

‘We just did like-for-like [after Palmer withdrew],' Maresca explained. 'Estevao was playing inside in Cole’s position.'

Joao Pedro's headline figures of a goal and assist are obviously great numbers to post from one match but outside of that, the other metrics were not earth-shatteringly high. Yet they did highlight just how much he contributed in a number of areas.

As his touchmap visualisation above shows, Joao Pedro - who had previously done his best work in blue in the final third - was getting on the ball across the pitch and doing his share of defensive work too.

There will be more on that later but crucially, three of his touches led to goals and ultimately three points.

Goalscorer

If you include the two pre-season friendlies against Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan, Joao Pedro has scored an impressive six goals in seven outings since joining the club, and that record continued last night.

He became the first Chelsea player to score in his maiden Premier League London derby with the club since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang against Crystal Palace in October 2022, heading in Marc Cucurella's flick-on at the near post to equalise a quarter of an hour in.

It may have only been four yards out but the forward still had to show desire, strength and his aerial ability to get on the end of the flick-on and beat Aaron Wan-Bissaka to the ball.

Creator

Joao Pedro is much more than a goalscorer, though, and that too was evident in East London.

With the score 1-1, it was the Brazilian who controlled Gusto's pass to the corner of the penalty area well and then clipped in a lofted cross to the far post, ready for Pedro Neto to volley home.

It was a moment which highlighted his good close control, vision and crossing ability in one swift movement.

Impact at both ends

But as mentioned already, it wasn't only in the final third where Joao Pedro's impact was felt.

The aerial strength which he showcased for his header and also his second assist for Trevoh Chalobah's goal, also led to a few important defensive clearances, most noticeably in first-half injury time when James Ward-Prowse delivered a trademark dangerous delivery.

The above visualisation highlights his two defensive clearances and the blocked West Ham attempt in his own penalty area, as well as the tackle and ball recovery inside the final ten minutes just inside the Blues' half.

There was a lot more defensive work done without the ball which wouldn't have gone unnoticed by Maresca and his staff, as all of the Chelsea attacking players looked to press from the front and limit the West Ham attacks.

In possession, Joao Pedro's 39 touches was actually the lowest of any of the players who featured for the whole 90 minutes. This wasn't a performance where the Blues were constantly playing through the forward in the way we have seen with Palmer previously. But he still managed to link the play well and keep the ball ticking over, only misplacing four of his 26 passes.

Part of playing 'in the pocket' in the Maresca system is taking the ball in tight areas and often under pressure so it isn't surprising when players in those No.10 roles are not completing lots of dribbles or touches.

And crucially three of those touches led to goals: his own, the cross for Pedro Neto's volley and his header at a corner which lead to Chalobah's fifth.

Ultimately, those three touches are one of the main reasons why 45 per cent of you voted for Joao Pedro as your Player of the Match against West Ham on the Chelsea Official App but there was much more than just that to like about the 23-year-old's performance on his night out in East London.

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