It was a rather obvious choice – after scoring twice and providing two assists, in the first three games of the Premier League, Joao Pedro was named the Premier League's Player of the Month on Friday. The Brazilian started the season excellent and there are a few reasons for it. The first one is certainly his absence from the World Cup. It was the single most shocking decision from Carlo Ancelotti, who left the Chelsea forward from the final list, and extra time for rest has certainly played its part. The second reason is certainly the desire to prove Ancelotti wrong, and that mission has already being accomplished, since the Italian called Pedro for the upcoming Brazil friendly matches against Australia and India.Starting the season in style ✨Joao Pedro is August's @EASPORTSFC Player of the Month 🏆 pic.twitter.com/c1FIJrDbKV— Premier League (@premierleague) September 11, 2026 The third reason is certainly the change of manager. Xabi Alonso is the coach who won it all, who has the authority and who has a clear system in place. For any player, especially the striker, confidence is everything, and when your manager puts you in the same sentence with Erling Haaland, it’s hard not to feel good about yourself."If you count how many top strikers we have in the Premier League, I'm sure that Joao Pedro is there, Haaland for sure is there. So I would rate him that way" said Alonso, when asked whether Pedro could be compared to the prolific Haaland, who won last season's Premier League Golden Boot with 27 goals.Toxic love between Enzo and Chelsea: from vice-captain to transfer requestThe Spaniard went even further in his praise of the Brazilian forward, comparing him to his former Real teammate Karim Benzema."In many things he reminds me of Benzema, because he is good in the box, he is good out of the box, he is good coming to his left side, he is good with the head, he is very complete, he is intelligent. So yes, he is still young, still things to develop, but many, many absolutely outstanding qualities that he has" said the Spaniard.PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 4Saturday17.00: (2.35) Aston Villa (3.40) Nottingham Forest (3.00)17.00: (2.50) Bournemouth (3.45) Brentford (2.75)17.00: (1.23) Chelsea (6.50) Hull (12.0)17.00: (1.95) Crystal Palace (3.50) Ipswich (3.90)17.00: (1.43) Liverpool (5.00) Fulham (6.60)19.30: (2.05) Tottenham (3.45) Everton (3.60)22.00: (7.00) Sunderland (4.50) Arsenal (1.45)Sunday16.00: (4.20) Coventry (3.50) Brighton (1.88)18.30: (3.15) Manchester United (3.50) Manchester City (2.20)Monday22.00: (2.45) Leeds (3.40) Newcastle (2.85)***odds are subject to change***
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