Chelsea legend Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was surprised by Noni Madueke in the Blues’ 2-1 win against Crystal Palace last night.

Noni Madueke was brought on in the second half and won his side a penalty towards the end of the game.

The winger stepped up to take it and scored and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, speaking on Prime Video (27/12/2023 at 21:40) after the game, said he was unaware of the level of confidence the player had.

Mykhailo Mudryk was the man who opened the scoring for Chelsea in the first half and impressed Lee Dixon before having to be taken off in the second 45 minutes.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink surprised by Noni Madueke

Madueke’s confidence to take the all-important penalty caught Hasselbaink by surprise.

On his decision to volunteer for Chelsea’s spot kick, Hasselbaink said: “It showed confidence of him. It showed that he wanted to take that big moment, that responsibility, and he took the penalty ever so well. I didn’t know that he had that in him.

“He makes the penalty here, great movement, it’s 100% a penalty for me. I think the referee could have given it straight away. Very clumsy [from Eberechi Eze], but 100% penalty. The way he takes it, very calm, stops and finds his corner and the goalkeeper has no chance whatsoever.”

Should Noni Madueke start against Luton Town?

Chelsea’s next game is soon, another Premier League fixture against Luton Town on Saturday.

Raheem Sterling and Cole Palmer will both be back from suspension, but Mauricio Pochettino would be mad not to include Madueke in his first XI for the tie at Kenilworth Road.

The England U21 international obviously made a big impact in the Palace game and must have a lot of confidence at the moment.

It would be unfair to leave him out of the team, especially for Sterling after his bad decision-making in the 2-1 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers prior to yesterday’s win.

The 29-year-old, of course, had a great opportunity to pass the ball to Palmer for a tap in in the first half of that loss but chose not to.