Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson is delighted the work that has gone into improving on his finishing is paying dividends, Afrosport reports.
The Senegal international has come under intense scrutiny over his end product since joining the Blues from Villarreal last summer.
Part of this criticism has come from former Chelsea and Nigeria midfielder Mikel John Obi, and Jackson has started to prove doubters wrong after scoring twice and assisting the other in a 3-0 win at London rivals West Ham United on Saturday.
“I like playing against any opponent when I’m helping the team!,” Nicolas Jackson told the club website.
“That’s the most important thing for me, contributing to the team and as long as I’m doing that then it doesn’t matter about who we are playing against.
“It was a perfect day for me really. Scoring two goals and helping the team win a big London derby, I’m very happy.”
A fine team goal capped off with a cool finish. ✨#CFC | #WHUCHE pic.twitter.com/32veVoVjSJ
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 22, 2024
Reflecting on the manner in which he scored his goals, Jackson added: “I was happy with that goal but also the timing of it. Being so early in the game, it meant we could control things and I think we did that.
“The finish was something I was happy with too. I saw the goalkeeper come towards me and I made the decision to put it through his legs and luckily for me, it came off perfectly. I’ve been working hard on that aspect of my game so I’m happy to score two goals and help the team.
“That gave me confidence for the second goal and I feel stronger with each game after overcoming injury from last season. I feel strong and I’m happy with my performance, but also the performance of the team as a whole.”
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca also spoke of Jackson’s improvement since he took charge of the club this summer.
“It is fantastic [for him]. In terms of the numbers, so goals and assists, he is doing well since I arrived. Off the ball, he is working hard and if a player misses one or two chances, that does not necessarily mean he is not playing well,” the Italian tactician said.
“It can happen. All players miss chances and the important thing is the complete performance. Against Bournemouth, it was a good performance from Nicolas but we changed something and Christo came inside [the game] and scored the goal to win the game and that is what we expect from all of them.”
Nicolas Jackson (18) has now scored more non-penalty goals in the Premier League since the start of last season than Dominic Solanke, Alexander Isak & Son Heung-min, Mohamed Salah and Kai Havertz.
Is he one of the most underrated forwards? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/OFvznBeT4w
— Squawka (@Squawka) September 21, 2024
Jackson now has four goals and two assists in five Premier League games this season. He has also scored 18 non-penalty goals in the top flight since the start of last season, putting him above prolific forwards like Dominic Solanke, Heung-Min Son, Alexander Isak and Mohamed Salah.
