Morgan Rogers hails 'relentless' Joao Pedro as Chelsea climb to fourth under Xabi Alonso
Rogers credits Chelsea talisman after British-record switch
Joao Pedro has been Chelsea's standout attacking force this season, and Morgan Rogers believes the Brazilian is operating at the peak of his powers under new manager Xabi Alonso.
Only Manchester City's Erling Haaland has outscored Pedro in the Premier League so far, with eight goals to the Chelsea forward's five in six matches. Those goals have played their part in lifting the Blues to fourth in the table during Alonso's first campaign at the Stamford Bridge helm.
England international Rogers, who joined the west London club from Aston Villa in a £117million deal this summer, said: “I think his (Pedro's) hunger to score goals, his hunger to work for the team is massive. Especially for me, where I play on the pitch, it really helps me loads. He always gives me an option. I can always play off him, and he can play off me, too.”
He added: “He's a massive part of us, not just scoring goals, he works so hard as well. The relentless running in the channel and working defensively as well for the team. A lot of his focus is also on getting goals, being in the box. He's worked on it in training about arriving, getting in the box and scoring goals and he's been doing that every game since I've been here. He's on the top of his game right now and it's really good for Chelsea that he is.”
Rogers has made a bright start of his own since his British-record transfer, contributing four goals and one assist in the league. “I'm feeling really good when I go out there, feeling really confident,” he said. “The players and the staff allow me to be me, which is the most important thing, and I can just play my game and focus on that. I've still got improvements that I want to make in my game, but I'm happy with the start. I think the start's the important thing and you try and get fans on your side, try and get the players on your side, which is tough. So I'm glad that I can do that, but it's just about moving forward with the team. It's a long project and it's going in the right direction.”
The momentum behind Alonso's project was underlined on 18 October, when Chelsea secured their first away win of the Premier League season with a 2-0 victory at Everton — a result that ended Everton's unbeaten start — with Pedro Neto scoring both goals for the Blues.
Chelsea host Tottenham at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening before travelling to Liverpool in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup next week.