Noni Madueke explains unorthodox post-match ritual after storming down tunnel

Noni Madueke proved a fistful for Greece successful England's awesome 3-0 Nations League triumph successful Athens connected Thursday nighttime but the Chelsea winger had to warrant his antithetic ritual aft being taken off

If you judge Noni Madueke truly does person a peculiar ritual aft being substituted, the Olympic Stadium successful Athens posed a peculiar problem.

The dressing-rooms were astir a mile distant from the pitch. Confused?

Well, erstwhile Madueke was replaced by Mykhailo Mudryk midway done the 2nd fractional of Chelsea ’s gully with Arsenal past Sunday, helium went consecutive down the tunnel, prompting stern disapproval from immoderate fans and pundits. But aft a sparkling hr successful an England jersey connected Thursday night, the 22-year-old attacker was blessed to explicate his crisp exit astatine the weekend.

He said: “I virtually went down the passageway to spell to the toilet and I came backmost 30 seconds later. If you ticker a batch of games erstwhile I travel disconnected I ever spell consecutive down the passageway to spell to the toilet. It is thing large astatine all.”

And his nine manager, Enzo Maresca, was evidently not over-impressed, helium considered it to beryllium thing major, but past helium is improbable to prime an unnecessary combat with Madueke. Because successful conscionable implicit an hr against Greece, Madueke showed what a prodigious endowment helium is.

And helium has the self-confidence to spell with it. After producing a fantastic assistance for the Ollie Watkins opener that silenced a hostile Greek crowd, Madueke said: “I consciousness similar I did my job. I created the archetypal goal, I was a menace beauteous overmuch until I came disconnected and that is what I effort to bring to my crippled each clip I measurement connected the transportation and convey deity tonight, it was perfect.

“I person got a batch of content successful my quality adjacent if it is not going truthful great. I inactive judge I tin interaction games. That is what I tried to bash and thankfully it worked but besides astatine Chelsea.

“I person had immoderate large moments this play and sometimes I person not been arsenic bully arsenic I similar but that is portion of the process and I americium ever afloat of assurance and that does not alteration erstwhile I enactment connected an England shirt.” Madueke is 1 of Lee Carsley’s set of under-21 players who person made specified a large content during the interim manager’s tenure.

In fact, they person been truthful awesome that it is astir similar determination are 2 sets of young England players vying for places, with Madueke competing with Bukayo Saka - 1 of the absentees from this campy - for a spot successful the first-choice starting line-up.

But Madueke said: “I don’t look astatine Bukayo similar competition. I look astatine Bukayo similar a team-mate who plays for England. I cognize his prime and helium has fantastic quality and helium is simply a subordinate that I look astatine to effort and instrumentality parts of his crippled into my game. I don’t look astatine him similar ‘I americium coming for you’.

“The manager volition marque his determination and I americium blessed to beryllium portion of this squad and to commencement to marque a quality for England this aboriginal connected successful my vocation is great.”

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