Chelsea's George shows why he deserves more playing time

Chelsea's Tyrique George. Photo by John Walton/PA Images/Alamy Images/Sipa USA *** US Rights Only ***

Chelsea's Tyrique George shows why he deserves more playing time in comeback vs. Fulham

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Apr 20, 2025 2:54 PM ET

It only took five minutes for Chelsea forward Tyrique George to flip the tide in Sunday's road match against Fulham.

With Fulham leading 1-0, George replaced forward Nicolas Jackson in the 78th minute of the match. In the 83rd minute, he netted a right-foot shot from the outside of the box to the bottom left corner.

On the play, he became Chelsea's fifth-youngest (19 years old, 75 days) goalscorer in the Premier League and youngest since Callum Hudson-Odoi (19 years old, 65 days) in a match against Burnley in January 2020, via BBC Sport.

UNBELIEVABLE CHELSEA COMEBACK.

TYRIQUE GEORGE AND PEDRO NETO SECURE A DRAMATIC LATE WIN FOR THE BLUES! pic.twitter.com/MZDErfGJWQ
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) April 20, 2025

Chelsea forward Pedro Neto scored a goal off a left-footed shot from the center of the box in stoppage time, sealing a 2-1 win for the Blues.

With the win, Chelsea (16-9-8, 57 points) has moved into fifth in the Premier League, keeping its 2025-26 UEFA Champions League hopes alive.

"[George] is a talent, he has to work hard. He's going well with us," Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said, via Ben Jacobs of GiveMeSport. "He deserved a chance and his goal was fantastic. It was all very important because it gave us an energy boost for the last push."

George has yet to start a Premier League match for Chelsea. However, if he continues to provide an instant spark, perhaps Maresca should consider making some lineup changes.

"Now, having netted twice in three games, following his opener in the Conference League first leg win at Legia Warsaw, will boss Enzo Maresca be tempted to hand his largely unknown, but clearly talented, quantity more minutes in the run-in?" wrote BBC Sport's Michael Beardmore.

Chelsea has underperformed throughout the season. Entering Sunday's match, it was sixth in the Premier League in goals (58), despite spending more than any club ($527M) over the past two transfer windows, via The Athletic's Ben Burrows and Chris Weatherspoon.

Instead of banking on overpriced free agents, the club should prioritize developing talented homegrown talents like George.

Clark Dalton

Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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