“I’m surprised”- Chelsea star opens up on winning the prestigious monthly gong

Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic wins Premier League Goal of the Month for January

As per the club’s official website, Chelsea star Mateo Kovacic spoke of his delight at winning the Premier League Goal of the Month award for January, with the Croatian’s strike against Liverpool in the league being adjudged the best strike for the month.

In what was the Blues’ first game of 2022, Chelsea fought back from two goals down to head into halftime with the equaliser, in what was a dramatic first half of Premier League football at Stamford Bridge to bring in the new year. Kovacic sparked the comeback, with his sweetly taken volley halving the deficit before Christian Pulisic thumped home the equaliser shortly before the halftime whistle blew.

Kovacic described the goal as his best one so far, given the way the ball came to him before he unleashed the strike and the nature of circumstances in which he found the back of the net.  

“I think it is my best goal as it was quite difficult, because as I said the ball was high in the air and it was a difficult shot. Also because it was a very important game against Liverpool in the Premier League, because we were 2-0 down and this goal gave us the boost to come back.”

Although the game ended 2-2 and Chelsea dropped points at home, Blues fans attending the game at Stamford Bridge came away with a wonderful goal to witness live. They also watched their team fight back from two goals down to come back and claim a point against a strong Liverpool side, all within the first half of the game.

Best goal of career

Kovacic’s goal was a thing of beauty, with the Croatia international demonstrating flawless technique to backpedal and meet the dropping ball with a perfect looping volley. Anyone who plays football knows how difficult it is to catch a ball sweetly on the volley, let alone have it fly through a crowd of players and nestle in the back of the net.

Despite scoring a truly wonderful goal, the former Real Madrid man said he was surprised to see his strike shortlisted for the award. With this win, he became the first Chelsea player to receive the award in nearly three years.

“I’m surprised because I didn’t think that my name would be there, but luckily I scored a really nice goal against Liverpool and I am very happy to receive such an amazing award.”

The goal against Liverpool comes off the back of a fine campaign for Kovacic, who has managed to find a place in coach Thomas Tuchel’s starting lineup often this season. The midfielder does not have a knack for scoring goals regularly, but when he does, they seem to be of the spectacular kind.

Despite Jorginho and N’golo Kante seemingly being Tuchel’s first-choice midfield pairing for games, Kovacic has been able to find regular game time not just in the Premier League, but also in domestic competitions and the Champions League. It is a testament to how good the Croatia international is, even though the Chelsea squad is stacked with world-class talent.

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In the past, Kovacic was criticised for being injury-prone and missing a chunk of games for his clubs after being sidelined with one issue or the other. However, ever since Tuchel has taken over, the midfielder has kept himself fit and seems to be enjoying a good time on the field, dropping consistent performances for Chelsea.

At 27, the Croatian star is in the prime years of his career. Given his displays this season, we could very well be looking at a player who has the potential to turn into one of the world’s best in the middle of the park in the coming years.