Pedro Neto Scores Twice From Wing-Back as Chelsea Beat Everton
Pedro Neto scored twice from wing-back as Chelsea beat Everton 2-0 at Hill Dickinson Stadium. A wing-back is a player who runs down the side of the pitch to attack, then tracks back to help defend. It is a demanding job, and Neto did it while finding the net twice.
Neto is no stranger to scoring. Chelsea paid Wolves £54m for him in 2024, and at Wolves he had 14 goals and 27 assists (the final pass before a goal) in 135 appearances. At Chelsea, before Xabi Alonso arrived as manager, he had 19 goals and 19 assists in 103 games. This season he has four goals and one assist in nine appearances, three of them as a substitute.
Alonso has been clear that he does not mind what the position is called. "You can call him whatever you want," the Chelsea boss said. "Winger, wing-back, attacking player, defensive player. He can do many things." When a journalist described Neto as a wing-back after the Everton win, Alonso seemed taken aback, according to Chelsea's own website.
The numbers back up the change. Neto is averaging 5.3 touches inside the opposition box per 90 minutes this season, up from 3.6 last season. A "per 90" figure means the average for every 90 minutes played, which evens things out for players who start some games and come off the bench in others. His tackles in the Premier League have risen from 0.7 to 2.0 per 90 minutes, and his possessions won from 2.9 to 3.9. BBC Sport reported those figures.
Chelsea fans have seen this shape before. In 2017, Victor Moses moved from winger to wing-back under Antonio Conte, and Chelsea went on a 13-match winning run on the way to the Premier League title. Neto's role is similar, though the team's wider story has been much bumpier.
Chelsea have had a lot of change at the top. Enzo Maresca left as manager on New Year's Day. Liam Rosenior lasted less than four months, and the club finished 10th in the table. Alonso's arrival has brought a new start, and the squad appears to be buying in. Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro, Reece James and Moises Caicedo have all signed new contracts.
Neto's own future looks settled for now. He has signed a new contract that runs until 2032. Chelsea set an asking price of about £100m for him during the summer transfer window, a sum that shows how much value the club now places on him. BBC Sport reported both the contract and the price.
For casual fans, the lesson is simple. Neto has never lacked talent, but the role he is playing now lets him use all of it. Two goals at Everton were a fine reward for a player who now spends as much time defending as he does attacking.
