Steven Gerrard knows why Chelsea star will be feeling annoyed under Xabi Alonso
Jordan Henderson was the unlikely hero on Saturday as Chelsea brushed aside struggling Bournemouth with a massive 5-1 win, but Steven Gerrard thinks Henderson will be feeling annoyed.
Henderson had not even touched the ball in a Chelsea shirt at Stamford Bridge when Cole Palmer laid the ball off to him on the edge of Bournemouth’s area. His effort kissed the post before landing in the net.
Moments later, Henderson’s next touch was an assist for Morgan Rogers. One of his final touches of the game saw him curl an audacious free-kick into the net, Chelsea’s fifth on the day, securing a 5-1 win.
Steven Gerrard thinks Jordan Henderson will be annoyed
After his arm injury at the World Cup, Saturday was only Henderson’s second outing for Chelsea, having started against his old side, Brentford. The Bees fans gave him an uncomfortable time on his Blues debut.
But ever since Chelsea made the bold move to sign 36-year-old Henderson from Brentford, many pundits and fans have been describing Henderson as a squad player. A player signed simply for leadership.
Jordan Henderson starred in Chelsea’s win over Bournemouth, but who is the club’s greatest-ever free transfer? 🤔
He is renowned for being a manager on the pitch, driving standards. Chelsea had tried to sign Granit Xhaka from Sunderland, but got Henderson instead. However, Henderson still offers plenty on the pitch.
On The Overlap, Steven Gerrard explained that this is what will be annoying Henderson ever since he and Danny Welbeck arrived at Stamford Bridge. He knows he has more to offer than warming the bench.
“That [squad player label] will be annoying him. But I think that would have annoyed James Milner, for example. It will annoy a lot of 33, 34, 35, 36-year-olds. I left Liverpool because of it,” Gerrard suggested.
“I still felt like I was Liverpool’s best centre midfielder; that’s just how I felt. And that will be annoying Jordan, because I think it’s slightly disrespectful to just call someone a squad player who’s had that career.
“He is still capable of that type of contribution. The reality is, he’s not going to play every game. There’s probably a bit more of a respectful way, as a journalist, you could put that across to Jordan, I would say.”
The underlying reason Henderson now has to be first choice
Beyond his performance against Bournemouth, there is another reason why Henderson has got to be first choice for Alonso. The England star showed his quality, but an underlying stat explains his importance.
Chelsea needed this break BADLY… but with so many players racking up minutes for their countries, did it actually help them or could it have made things worse? 🤔
Let us know your reasoning! 👇
Against Brentford, Henderson ran the second-most out of anyone with a total of 11.6km covered. Then, against Bournemouth, he ran more than anyone. Interestingly, Pep Chavarria ran more at Brentford.
On Saturday, Chavarria produced the second-highest distance covered. Saturday saw Chelsea outrun their opponent for only the second time this season, having done so at Fulham. Last season, it was only once.
Henderson drives standards by setting himself as the example. He never stops organising, instructing, or as the stats show, running. That is infectious, and it gets the rest of his teammates to run as well.
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