Noni Madueke open up on why Keeps dropping points after Sheffield United draw
Chelsea’s Noni Madueke has emphasised the need for unity within the squad following a frustrating 2-2 draw against Sheffield United.
The Blues had twice taken the lead at Bramall Lane, with goals from Thiago Silva and Madueke himself, but were pegged back on both occasions by Jayden Bogle and Oli McBurnie. This result leaves Chelsea in ninth place in the Premier League, trailing Manchester United in sixth by five points. Madueke acknowledged that the draw was a missed opportunity to close this gap.
“The way we drop points sometimes…it’s in the palm of our hands,” Madueke told Chelsea’s official website. “I don’t know what to say other than there are still games to go and we have to go again and stick together.
“We still have faith we can finish in the places we want to finish in. But we have to cut that [dropping points] out sooner rather than later.”
Madueke’s goal in the 66th minute seemed set to secure victory for Chelsea for much of the second half. However, the inability to hold onto the lead was particularly disappointing in light of their dramatic midweek win over Manchester United.
“It was always going to be a difficult game, a different game to Manchester United at home,” Madueke said. “However, I feel like it’s a game we should’ve won and until the end, it looked like we would. But we couldn’t quite get over the line which is disappointing for sure.
“Our Achilles heel this season has been cashing in after a big win. We had an amazing result the other day and needed to keep rolling.
“It’s the fashion in which we drew the game. Credit to them, they are at the bottom and they are fighting, but we really should’ve wrapped up the points.”
Mauricio Pochettino and his players have seven days to prepare for their next fixture, which comes at home against Everton next Monday. Madueke says the Blues’ mindset must be on taking maximum points from that fixture and those that follow.
“Like I said, it is not about killing each other, we have to stick together. There are eight games left, that’s 24 points up for grabs and our mentality has to be to get as many of them as possible, if not all of them.”
