Chelsea CB Benoit Badiashile was excellent against Crystal Palace
The Frenchmen made five progressive passes while accumulating four tackles plus interceptions. Badiashile made his presence known on Palace’s set-pieces, winning a game-high six aerial duels, tied with his running mate in the defense, Silva. With a packed crowd at the Bridge honoring a club legend before the match, Badiashile attacked the ball in the air with composure consistently to hold the Eagles in the final minutes.
It never felt like Badiashile was rushing anything in the back like many young defenders often do in a physical league like the Premier League. The Reds, despite their form as of now after their performance against Brighton, possess a talented attack with newcomers Cody Gakpo, and Mohamed Salah that is going to challenge Badiashile in the back in a different way than Palace did.
"I love watching him play, I wish he'd have come to the Premier League sooner"
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 16, 2023
Stephen Warnock 🤝 Benoit Badiashile pic.twitter.com/cCdJevJfHV
From Badiashile’s casual left-footed diagonal ball to Hakim Zyiech to heading the ball out of danger three times in the final moments of the match to secure a much-needed three points, the Frenchmen showed the club a little bit of everything in his first time out in blue.
It may have been his first outing in the Premier League against a mid-table team, but Badiashile seems to have the personality and quality to succeed in this league with the CFC badge on his chest.
With all of the drama and disappointments surrounding the Blues, it tells a lot about the player Badiashile to be able to put together an outing like that in a club that has always been defined by pressure.
Will Benoit Badiashile displace Kalidou Koulibaly from the starting eleven?