Why Armando Broja's return is such a huge boost for Chelsea

"No injury, just a precaution after being out so long." 

Rarely has such a mundane, matter-of-fact injury update provided such relief among a fanbase, as when Armando Broja stepped off the Craven Cottage pitch alongside a physio on Monday night, Chelsea fans were probably thinking "here we go again." 

The club has endured both devastating injury luck and a rotten time in front of goal this season. For Broja to step in, help solve the latter, then immediately succumb to the former, would have been very Chelsea 2023/24. 

But 65 minutes in a west London bout against Fulham was pre-planned, while the reason he left with a physio? It’s not too much of a stretch to suggest the Blues were slowing the game down at that stage, having surrendered momentum to their rivals. He played his part to perfection. 

Make no mistake: Monday evening would have been equal parts joyful and daunting for Broja. He’d made his first matchday squad of the season just the week before, getting 11 minutes off the bench against Aston Villa, and here, due to Nicolas Jackson’s mildly ludicrous suspension, he was starting his first game since December 2022, when he tore his ACL. Moreover, it was away from home, in a derby, spearheading a team who were being openly mocked by Domino’s pizza for their inability to score a goal. 

But a bad early miss - saved by the offside flag, and only possible due to excellent work rounding the goalkeeper - aside, Broja looked effective. A little ringrust showed in said miss and in getting caught offside twice, but his role was to run off the shoulder, to stretch play and create space underneath for the Blues’ talented attacking midfielders. You can forgive him for feeling a little overeager at points. 

Only Mykhailo Mudryk (17) touched the ball fewer times than Broja (26) among Chelsea starters, and Mudryk went off at half time. Despite this, the Albanian felt very involved throughout his 65 minutes, providing structure to the attack, creating space for others, completing two dribbles and even managing a rogue tackle. 

That Mudryk looked threatening, Cole Palmer looked so accomplished and smooth, and that Conor Gallagher frequently had room to turn and surge is all partially testament to Broja, whose direct, hard running takes opposing players away from the ball. He was even able to ghost around Issa Diop, hit the byline and force Antonee Robinson into a vital clearance in his own six-yard box, displaying some nimble, quick feet in the process. 

The cherry on top was the goal. It was a little fortuitous, but Broja deserves that after what he’s gone through. It was also only possible because he hassled and harried Tim Ream into a second mistake in succession, there in the right place at the right time to direct the ball home.  

The more beautiful goals will come. As he racks up the minutes his running style will become less wooden and stiff, reverting back to what we saw at his time with Southampton, where his shoulder drops fooled defenders and his strikes were pure. Game by game, it’ll loosen up. 

Chelsea have one more fixture before the international break - away to Burnley - which is a perfect matchup for a direct runner like Broja, as he’ll be afforded space to run into and 1v1s to take advantage of due to the way the Clarets press high and man-to-man mark. If Mauricio Pochettino gives him the nod - why wouldn’t he? - it could serve as a vital second step towards getting Broja "back." 

At this early stage, it’d be a mistake to anoint him an immediate saviour of Chelsea’s goalscoring woes; that’s unfair pressure to place on someone only just returned from a severe injury, and the truth is his best-ever league scoring season was back in 2020/21 in the Eredivisie, where he netted 10. But having an option outside of Jackson is a huge positive for Pochettino, who may be able to use Broja’s eagerness to make up for lost time to his advantage.