The Brazilian certainly made a decisive contribution at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, as his two brilliantly-taken goals took us from 2-1 down at half-time to 3-2 winners at the final whistle.

That wasn’t missed by the Blues supporters, with 89 per cent voting for him as our Player of the Match on Wednesday evening.

Big game player

Joao Pedro’s brace came when Chelsea really needed it. In the final match of the league phase, the Blues knew we realistically needed to win if we were to have any chance of progressing directly to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League, without the added jeopardy of the play-off round.

Looking for our first Champions League away win of the season at the home of the Italian champions, at a stadium where Napoli hadn’t suffered defeat in their last 25 games, was never going to be an easy task.

Not that it seemed to faze Joao Pedro. He showed himself to be the man for the big occasion and the big competition by scoring twice. Combined with his goal away at Atalanta last month, it makes him Chelsea’s joint highest scorer in the competition this campaign, despite this being his first season competing in the Champions League.

Of course, he isn’t the only big game player in this Chelsea side. It was telling that the assists for both his goals were provided by Cole Palmer, the same combination which produced the Brazilian’s goal against Paris Saint-Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup final.

Man in form

Chelsea are hitting a good run, with five wins from our last six games, and in the Champions League we have been prolific, scoring 17 times across our eight matches in that competition, finding the net in every game so far.

That has been reflected by Joao Pedro’s own form, after scoring on back-to-back Champions League away trips.

The Brazilian has now scored four goals in his last three starts across all competitions. As his debut campaign with the Blues picks up momentum, since that Champions League trip to Bergamo last month, our No.20 has racked up an impressive eight goals in 13 appearances.

His brace in Naples takes him to 11 goals in total across all competitions this season, edging one ahead of Enzo Fernandez – who also scored on Wednesday – to become Chelsea’s top scorer in 2025/26.

Leading the line

It was more than just his goals which stood out against Napoli, though, as Joao Pedro returned as our central striker in the Champions League in place of Liam Delap, having started on the bench against Pafos at Stamford Bridge.

The opposition clearly realised his threat, committing five fouls on Joao Pedro, making him our most fouled player at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Not that it kept him quiet. Despite Napoli’s best efforts to stop him by any means, the Brazilian managed more successful dribbles (two) and duels won (nine) than any other player on the pitch.

Operating in the striker’s role, the 24-year-old provided a strong presence in the Napoli penalty area too. No Chelsea player could match his numbers for shots (four), shots on target (two) and shots in the box (three), while only Pedro Neto bettered his total of three touches in the opposition’s area.

Combined with his two goals, a true centre-forward's performance, and a worthy Player of the Match winner.