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Chelsea's Christopher Nkunku nearly scored from a remarkable bicycle-kick attempt in his team's pre-season clash against Inter Milan. The two teams met at Stamford Bridge on Sunday (August 11) and shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw.
Inter took the lead through Marcus Thuram in the 26th minute and Chelsea almost found an equalizer 10 minutes into the second half. A deflected cross by Malo Gusto from the right flank saw the ball loop up in the air and fall perfectly for Nkunku to attempt a first-time bicycle kick from inside the box.
The attempt was, however, saved by an outstretched Yann Sommer. Had it gone in, it would have been Nkunku's fourth goal in six pre-season matches this summer.
Watch the video below:
Chelsea had to wait until the very last minute of regulation time to draw level, with Lesley Ugochukwu scoring from a poorly-cleared free-kick. Nkunku, meanwhile, got 45 minutes under his belt after coming on in the second half, although his bicycle kick attempt was as good as it got for him in the match.
The Frenchman notably scored in the first three friendlies this summer, netting in the 2-2 draw against Wrexham, the 1-4 loss to Celtic, and the 3-0 win over Club America.
What Enzo Maresca has planned for Christopher Nkunku at Chelsea
Christopher Nkunku's impeccable versatility allows him to fit seamlessly into a variety of tactical systems. Hence, it is often a mystery what a new manager would have in store for him; in this case, that man would be Enzo Maresca.
The newly-appointed Blues boss is appreciative of Nkunku's versatility, with the player capable of playing anywhere in attack and midfield. Speaking of the same last month, Maresca said (via Metro):
"He can play everywhere, he can play everywhere... He’s one of the players that in these two weeks [of pre-season] is doing very, very well. He is already taking the way we want to play, that is important. As I said, these kind of players for me, they can play winger, they can play attacking midfielder, they can play No.9, they can play in different positions.
"What we are going to try is to try to have players that they can play in different positions, that’s the way I see the football, and also that’s the way I like to work every day to try to improve players and help them not only play in one position, [but] that they can play in different positions."
Chelsea have tried out Nkunku in several different positions this pre-season, including in the No. 9 and No. 10 roles as well as out wide. An injury-plagued 2023-24 debut season at Chelsea meant the £52 million signing could only muster 439 minutes of Premier League football, scoring thrice.
The 26-year-old will be hoping things are different this time around.
