Enzo Maresca did not hold back from criticising Mykhailo Mudryk after Chelsea's win over Servette in the UEFA Conference League.
The 23-year-old played the full 90 minutes of the Stamford Bridge side's play-off first leg, which the hosts won 2-0 thanks to Christopher Nkunku's penalty and a strike from substitute Noni Madueke after the break.
Mudryk arrived at Chelsea in January 2023 from Shakhtar Donetsk in an overall deal which could rise to £89 million with add-ons.
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However, the Ukrainian has not lived up to the fee paid for him, with just seven goals in 59 games across all competitions for Chelsea so far.
In last night's game, Mudryk missed a big chance before half-time and generally struggled to make much of an impact against the Swiss side, with suggestions that Maresca was visibly 'losing patience' with the player throughout.
New Chelsea boss Maresca, who moved to Stamford Bridge this summer after a sole season in charge of Leicester City, spoke about Mudryk following the clash.
And the Italian believes the winger's form can be like a coin toss as he pinpointed where he feels Mudryk needs to improve.
"This is Mudryk, not only in terms of tonight but also in terms of since he joined the club," he said.
"He had some good moments and then some moments like flipping a coin. You don't know if it's one thing or the other thing.
"We are going to try to help him change. He needs to try to understand that we are going to give him the ball in the last third.
"And when he's there, [it's about] taking the right decision. For me, most of the mistakes from Misha are not about the quality or the technical mistake - it's about the choice.
"Sometimes he tries to do something different and we lose the ball. Sometimes he has to go one-v-one. It's about decision making. Hopefully we can help him improve that.
"If he can become more consistent, he can take one step forward."
Following the strong comments from his boss in the post-match press conference, Mudryk has now taken to social media to respond to them.
On his Instagram Story, the winger has posted two pictures, one of him receiving instructions from Maresca, and another with his teammates in a circle, simply with the word 'Together' followed by a blue heart emoji.
He then followed that up with a post that was simply captioned 'Beginning of new chapter' in reference to Prostar Agency - the new representatives he will be working with this season.
Though strong words from his boss, it appears Mudryk has taken the comments well and is committed to his club.
Topics: Chelsea, Enzo Maresca, Mykhailo Mudryk
John McDougall