Joao Felix likes it

When Chelsea signed joao felix This winter, it took him less than 24 hours to get his paperwork in order and make him an owner. Those are the needs of a Chelsea who have suffered all season from a goal problem and entrust themselves to the creativity and courage of the Portuguese to be able to hurt Real Madrid.

The months ofand yes in London they were full of ups and downs, from him playing almost 60 minutes on his debut, being held back by a straight red card, to going through a three-game suspension he had to serve, to the constant questions about whether he is more comfortable here than Diego Pablo Simeone and the doubts are whether he will continue beyond the summer or not.

It is difficult to label his assignment with Chelseawhich cost 11 million, because it almost did not result in two goals, without flying from a team that was kicked out of the Premier League and entrusted only with the miracle of eliminating the current champion in the Champions League.

however, yes He has been one of Chelsea’s best in recent months and if he hasn’t shined it’s because of the state of the team, which has its worst goalscoring numbers since the mid-90s. His contribution to this figure remains weak, as his performances reflect an ‘Expected Goal’ of 3.55 in the Premier, which means that his shots should have generated 3.5 goals, but they resulted in just two, one against West Ham United (Chelsea’s only Premier League goal in February) and another against Everton.

Compared to joao felix At Atlético de Madrid, the Portuguese scored more, provided more assists, shot more on goal and handled the ball more in the opposition area when he played for the Metropolitano, while at Chelsea he more centred, loses the ball less, dribbles more (up to six dribbles per game to Atlético’s five) and plays more. Whenever he was available, he was a starter.

This Wednesday, Joao will pass one of the tests that Chelsea may or may not do with his summer signing. He real Madrid He is one of the worst rivals for the Portuguese, who has never beaten the ‘Whites’ in his sporting career. Six games: two draws and four losses. He never scored or assisted and never played the full ninety minutes.

Surprisingly, Atlético did win a game against Real Madrid during Joao’s years at the Metropolitan (during the 2021-2022 season), but the Portuguese missed it due to injury.

Its presence does not seem to have changed despite the arrival of Frank Lampard on the Stamford Bridge bench and his place in the attacking trident, with Kai Havertz and Raheem Sterling There is no doubt about it, but, after almost three months in London, it is now when the Portuguese has to pass the real acid test to convince the board of directors that the price to pay Atlético de Madrid, to form a project around to him, it’s worth it.