Joao Felix made his Champions League debut for AC Milan as they were beaten away in the Netherlands by Feyenoord and the Italian media have reacted to his performance.
Chelsea’s supporters might be left rueing the club’s decision to let Felix leave on loan for Milan in January following the injury to Nicolas Jackson.
The Chelsea striker looks set for an extended spell on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring injury which is expected to rule him out until April.
The Blues have now been left short in attack following the departure of Felix, however, they might be feeling a little less bad after watching his European debut for the Italian giants.
The Italian media’s verdict on Joao Felix vs Feyenoord
The Italian media felt pretty underwhelmed by Joao Felix’s first run out in the Champions League for AC Milan as they were beaten 1-0 by Feyenoord.
The Portugese international managed 53 touches and three attempts on targets, however, didn’t offer too much of a threat to Timon Wellenreuther’s goal.
It was a 5.5/10 from Football Italia: “Conceiçao yelled at him in the opening minutes as he wanted more personality from the Chelsea loanee. Feyenoord closed down all the spaces in attack, and Felix gave his best in the final minutes when he moved to the left wing.”
Meanwhile, CalcioMercato rated him 6/10 and claimed: “He is definitely the player who is most on form for Milan. He tests the opposing goalkeeper on two occasions, he fights until the end.”
TUTTO Mercato WEB were less generous giving Felix a 5.5/10: “In a game as ugly as the colour of the third Milan jersey, he tries to get the ball, but when it comes controlling the tempo of the game, sometimes he is a little too light. The magic dust does not come out of his boots.”
Did Chelsea make a mistake allowing Joao Felix to leave?
Chelsea are now stuck with Christopher Nkunku as their number nine after losing both Jackson and Marc Guiu to injury.
Having Felix still would probably be a better option than the Frenchman who has struggled to convince during his year and a half in West London.
The 27-year-old was particularly poor in the Blues’ defeat away at Brighton in the FA Cup and Enzo Maresca will be somewhat concerned by his current striker options.