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Chelsea have the 'fastest man on the planet' as two stars standout in Brighton victory
Chelsea have gotten off to a flying start in pre-season.
Chelsea followed up their 5-0 thrashing of Wrexham in the Flordia Cup with a 4-3 win over Brighton, helped by excellent performances from Mykhaylo Mudryk and new signing Nicolas Jackson. Blues fans gushed over the duo on social media and declared that Mudryk is the "fastest man on the planet" after tearing through the Seagulls' defence with his blistering speed on Sunday.
Danny Welbeck had given Brighton the lead in the 13th minute with a close-range effort before Christopher Nkunku levelled up the scoring five minutes later. In the second half, Mauricio Pochettino brought on Mudryk and Jackson, who combined for Chelsea's second as Jackson teed off the Ukrainian who fired home an emphatic half-volley into the bottom corner.
Jackson then assisted Conor Gallagher to make it 3-1 before extending the west Londoner's lead to 4-1 with a tidy finish of his own. The south coast side then pegged two back courtesy of Joao Pedro from the spot and Deniz Undaz in open play but it would be too little too late for Brighton.
Although it was only a pre-season friendly, Chelsea fans have good reason to be excited about Mudryk and Jackson's performances and praised the duo online.
Mykhailo Mudryk scores his first @ChelseaFC goal in style ������#PLSummerSeries pic.twitter.com/gDrTWWlVPm
— Premier League (@premierleague) July 23, 2023
One fan (@RealityChelsea) wrote: "Mudryk is the fastest man on the planet, look at the state of that," accompanied by a video of the 22-year-old surging down the left-hand side of Brighton's defence.
Another (@TheYorkBlues) tweeted: "Mudryk and Jackson look like they’ve been playing together for years. Even the celebration. Looking forward to more of their link-ups this season."
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Mykhailo Mudryk is rapid, pass it on ������
— Premier League (@premierleague) July 23, 2023
������������ #PLSummerSeries
������ https://t.co/8VoNPCC9ho pic.twitter.com/81nypifpMO
A third (@HarryCFC170) added: "Massive props to whoever scouted Nicolas Jackson. Early days, but he's quick, strong, has good link-up play and knows how to score. Seems really settled already and full of confidence. His goal was Drogba-esque. Plenty of reasons to be optimistic."
Jackson was awarded the man of the match for his efforts while Mudryk finally got on the scoresheet for Chelsea after a woeful maiden campaign with the Blues. Pochettino will be optimistic about his side's attacking prowess but won't be happy about conceding two late goals to ten-man Brighton.
There is still a lot for Chelsea to do before they return to their once lofty heights but early signs under Pochettino are certainly promising.