Chelsea midfielder Dário Essugo has finally scored his first goal for Strasbourg, giving the Blues something positive to take from his loan spell in France.
The 21-year-old started Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Nice and found the net in the second half. He played 73 minutes and was one of Strasbourg’s better performers, despite the result.
It’s an important moment for Essugo, who has struggled to get regular playing time since arriving in France. His first three appearances came from the bench, and Sunday’s match was his first start.
The Portuguese midfielder now has a goal and an assist from just 168 minutes of football for Strasbourg. Those are encouraging numbers for Chelsea, although there’s a bit more to his situation.
Essugo making an impression in France
French newspaper Les Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace published an article about Essugo’s progress, describing him as a player who is growing in influence at Strasbourg.
Journalist Cédric Cariou points out that the midfielder had already shown some interesting qualities before Sunday’s goal.
His debut against Troyes was quite encouraging. Essugo came off the bench for 27 minutes, impressed with his physical strength and ability to break opposition lines, and assisted Samuel Amo-Ameyaw.
He then played 45 minutes against Monaco and another 23 against Paris Saint-Germain.
There were some difficulties along the way. Following the Monaco match, Les Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace highlighted how tired Essugo looked towards the end of his appearance.
Strasbourg manager Hugo Oliveira had also asked for patience with his new signings. The French club brought in 17 players during the summer, leaving plenty of work to do in terms of fitness, understanding and tactical organisation.
Essugo’s situation is particularly interesting because Oliveira reportedly had doubts about bringing him in.
Back in September, Alsa’Sports relayed quotes suggesting the manager wasn’t entirely convinced Strasbourg needed another midfielder. He already had several options in that area. But Essugo arrived anyway, and his latest performance gives Oliveira another reason to consider him for a bigger role.
Chelsea youngster gets his chance
After Sunday’s match against Nice, the local press highlighted Essugo’s physical presence in midfield and considered him one of the few positives from the defeat.
There’s also been some international football during the recent break. Essugo represented Portugal’s U21s during the international break, including a 71-minute appearance against Gibraltar.
Interestingly, he played as a central defender in that match, showing another side to his game.
Of course for Chelsea the main concern remains his lack of regular minutes. Four appearances since September is hardly the consistent football they’d want from a player sent out to develop.
Still, there’s a positive trend here. Essugo has contributed directly to two goals in limited playing time, and his first start ended with praise from the French press. Sunday’s goal should help Essugo’s case. Chelsea will now want to see whether he can build on it.
