Despite being awful for the vast majority of January, Chelsea players still found ways to win awards. Willian and Callum Hudson-Odoi bring home the prizes.
January was nothing short of an unmitigated disaster for Chelsea. The month ended with two wins, five draws and two losses. The club entered “crisis” mode. But the club did receive two small consolation prizes when things actually went well.
The highlight match of the month was without a doubt the Brighton victory. For the first time in weeks, Chelsea looked like reigning champions. The most impressive moment of the match was a beautifully worked team goal.
Willian started the move with a flick towards Eden Hazard. The Belgian redirected it to Michy Batshuayi. Some backheels and flicks later and Willian smashed the shot home. For the effort, Willian takes home the Premier League Goal of the Month award.
But the truly impressive monthly award goes to Callum Hudson-Odoi. His only Premier League 2 match in January saw him score a hattrick against Sunderland in a dominant performance. It is not a large body of work but it was plenty enough for the Englishman to win Premier League 2 Player of the Month.
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Antonio Conte has challenged his youth players, saying there is “a step” that they must take to reach the first team. Hudson-Odoi clearly took this to heart. His performances, which were good before, reached a new level in January after Conte made the comment.
Following the hattrick, Hudson-Odoi made his professional debut against Newcastle. A few days later, he was again called upon as the first team were getting thrashed by a rampant Bournemouth.
To add to his showcase in January, Hudson-Odoi also played against Lincoln in the Checkatrade Trophy. Though he did not have the brightest of starts, he grew into the match and was genuine danger by the end of the match.
Hudson-Odoi still has room for improvement, especially on the tactical side of the game, but he has all the skill and raw talent to become a star at Chelsea. The mentality to answer Conte’s challenge is impressive and could result in his first professional start against Hull City.
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Both Willian and Hudson-Odoi should be proud of what they accomplished in January. For Willian, he will need to help the team improve after a bad month with similar goals. Hudson-Odoi need only keep pushing himself to prove he is ready to take “the step”.