Poll: Where does Pedro rank amongst the top Premier League debuts?
Published:
Chelsea’s victory against West Brom may not have been the most convincing of displays from the champions, but there was certainly one ray of light for the Stamford Bridge outfit.
New arrival from Barcelona, Pedro was instrumental in building the Blues’ early lead, scoring the opener before assisting Diego Costa with the second.
The Spaniard was named as Man of the Match for his efforts, and was subject to some positive words from manager Jose Mourinho:
“There are lots of top players who come to the Premier League and it takes time to adapt but it looks like he has been with us for a long time because straight away he was in the game and he was important”, the Portuguese gaffer said after the match.
The 28-year-old isn’t the only player to make an instant impact in the Premier League though.
For today’s poll we have scoured the archives for some of the most impressive debuts in the ‘best league in the world’ in the past two-and-a-bit decades.
Who do you think comes out on top? Here are Pedro’s four competitors…
Alan Shearer (Blackburn Rovers v Crystal Palace – 1992)
The future England legend may have already been banging in the goals in the top-flight with Southampton, but after moving to Blackburn Rovers he welcomed in the maiden Premiership campaign in style.
With two goals on his Rovers debut, the striker helped his new club to a 3-3 draw against Crystal Palace, before going on to bag another 128 for the Ewood Park outfit.
Fabrizio Ravanelli (Middlesbrough v Liverpool – 1996)
A hat-trick on your debut would be beyond the wildest dreams for most players, but Ravanelli made sure he went a long way to justify the £7m Bryan Robson splashed out for him in the mid 90s.
The White Feather helped the talk of the Premier League ‘Boro come back on three occasions against Liverpool, each time indulging the Riverside crowd with his trademark shirt-over-the-head celebration.
Paulo Wanchope (Derby v Man Utd – 1997)
As he picked the ball up inside his own half, few would have expected Wanchope to mark his first foray in English football in quite the way he did.
Gliding past the Neville brothers, Nicky Butt and Roy Keane, the Costa Rican did well to poke his effort past Peter Schmeichel in the United net. The strike was Derby’s second as they went on to shock the Old Trafford outfit 3-2.
Sergio Aguero (Man City v Swansea -2011)
The diminutive Argentine was restricted to a place on the subs bench for his first match in the sky blue of Manchester City.
However, when his number was shown on the 59th minute, the clinical finisher wasted no time in introducing himself with his first strike within eight minutes of taking to the field. He added a second in the 90th minute to help the Citizens to a 4-0 victory marking the start of their successful Premier League campaign.
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All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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