Mykhailo Mudryk Chelsea debut verdict: £89m new signing provides plenty of thrills

Chelsea were on the receiving end of a Liverpool onslaught when Mykhailo Mudryk took to the pitch in the 55th minute.

Graham Potter saw his side needed a lift after failing to take advantage of their first-half dominance, with Liverpool now in the ascendancy.

In enters Mudryk, coming on for Lewis Hall. His first touch was one of nerves; poor and sloppy, but his second, third, fourth and fifth caused immediate excitement.

The 22-year-old last played a competitive match 59 days ago but needed little time to adapt to the Premier League, taking a ball off the feet of Conor Gallagher before dancing between defenders and shooting into Alisson’s side netting.

Mudryk could not have asked for a more accommodating opponent than James Milner, using his lightning pace to get the 37-year-old booked after a wild, desperate lunge from behind. Milner was soon replaced by Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The tide had turned and Chelsea were back in control, Mudryk’s sheer presence seemingly dragging his team-mates up the pitch.

It was almost the perfect debut as Mudryk linked up well with an outstanding Hakim Ziyech for two fine chances in front of goal. He probably should have buried one.

Mudryk also provided a chance for Carney Chukwuemeka to win the match in stoppage time but the latter, only recently introduced, was off balance and couldn’t get his shot away in the penalty area as the game finished goalless.

The £88.5million man has already started allaying fears over his price tag and looks ready and capable of improving his new team’s fortunes. A penny for Arsenal fans’ thoughts.