Chelsea winger Pedro Neto could not resist putting his fingers in his ears after scoring against Hull City – a pointed celebration he has done numerous times this season but refused to explain.
Asked if it was directed at anyone in particular, the winger told BBC Sport: “Yes. I will not tell it, but yes. I’ll continue my work. I want to help my team-mates and all the fans. I’ll keep working hard and move on to the next one.”
Those cryptic comments felt jarring in the wake of his first career hat-trick and a season in which he has scored 10 goals in all competitions and provided four assists – leaving him behind only Enzo Fernandez and Joao Pedro for goal involvements at Chelsea this term.
Neto opened the scoring at Hull last Friday with a sensational swerving effort. His subsequent corner went straight in for the second, and he completed the 4-0 FA Cup rout with a strike from just outside the box.
The Portuguese had a slight dip in form – along with the rest of the team – during a poor winter run in which former manager Enzo Maresca departed on New Year’s Day.
But Maresca’s replacement Liam Rosenior could not understand why anyone would have been critical of the winger, describing Neto as “world class” and praising the “sacrifices” he makes for the team.
Rosenior’s second point hints at why Neto may be misunderstood by some.
‘Never going to be Eden Hazard’
After Maresca left Chelsea, they drew 1-1 at Manchester City, and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville singled out Neto for criticism.
“He frustrated me like you won’t believe,” Neville said. “He’s a smidgen away from being an Eden Hazard, but he’s never going to be an Eden Hazard because he hasn’t got that killer instinct.”
Neto only scored 14 times in 135 games for Wolves before his £54m move in August 2024 – averaging one goal every 9.6 matches. At Chelsea, he has 19 goals in 89 games, averaging one every 4.7.
Those figures alone underline why it was always unrealistic to expect him to be another Hazard, who netted 110 times in 352 Chelsea matches.
Neto has only one assist and no goals in his past 12 league games, but he has four goals and two assists in four domestic cup fixtures – albeit three of those matches were against lower‑division opposition – to paint a more positive picture.
The 25-year-old is attempting fewer shots in the league this season – 1.7 per 90 minutes compared with 2.3 in 2024-25 – but is getting higher‑quality chances, averaging 0.11 expected goals per shot compared to 0.06. That shift explains why his conversion rate has almost doubled, from 6.8% to 13.5%.
In terms of output among players at the current top six clubs, Leandro Trossard, Bryan Mbeumo, Mohamed Salah, Morgan Rogers and Jeremy Doku all rank higher for non‑penalty goals per 90 minutes.
But Neto is a different type of forward, with only 7% of his touches coming in the opposition box – fewer than any of the players above him.
Where he does excel at is ball-carrying, something he attributes to following his father and uncles into roller hockey as a child. Among the Premier League’s top six clubs, only Doku ranks higher for carries. Neto is also second only to Mbeumo for sprints per 90 minutes.
One of Neto’s standout performances came against Paris St-Germain in the 3-0 Club World Cup final win, when he man‑marked full‑back Achraf Hakimi.
Another was the night Maresca surprised Barcelona boss Hansi Flick by deploying Neto as a striker, allowing him to exploit the Spanish side’s extremely high line with his pace.
Most comfortable on the right wing, Neto has been used as a striker, left winger, wing-back and number 10 for Chelsea this season.
Those “sacrifices” for the team, as Rosenior called it, make Neto more comparable to Willian than Hazard when looking for parallels from Chelsea’s recent past.
Alongside his fingers‑in‑ears and “stop talking” celebrations, Neto was also seen arguing with Tottenham fans during Chelsea’s 1-0 away win in November.
In an interview last season, Neto reflected on his celebrations, saying: “When you win you are the best and when you lose you are the worst”.
Neto seems to simply dislike the scrutiny he receives but it has not stopped him, as he puts it, “working” – helping Chelsea and steadily improving his own game.
Source: BBC
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