Sixty-four days. That is how long Chelsea fans had to wait to get a sight of Alexandre Pato.
But good things come to those who wait, and the January transfer window loanee has marked his long-awaited debut with a goal in Chelsea’s Premier League trip to struggling Aston Villa this afternoon.
The visiting supporters seemed equally surprised and delighted as they offered ironic cheers when the former AC Milan forward replaced the injured Loic Remy as a 23rd-minute substitute at Villa Park.
But Radamel Falcao was nowhere near as joyous as the Blues supporters after being snubbed by Guus Hiddink in favour of the Brazilian. Look at his face in this video – the Colombian is in disbelief!
Watch more brilliant snippets like this with fanatix’s FREE sports video news app.
Falcao has been another rarely-spotted Chelsea loan signing this season. The 30-year-old, who has not played since October because of injury, was back in the squad today but confined to the bench.
However, he cannot argue with the impact of Pato’s introduction. Ruben Loftus-Cheek opened the scoring three minutes later, before Pato made it 2-0 from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time.
SEE MORE: Ruben Loftus-Cheek goal video: Chelsea kid opens Premier League account with Frank Lampard-esque effort
And the man on loan from Corinthians then played a role in the build-up to both of Pedro’s second half strikes as Chelsea opened up a 4-0 lead against their hapless bottom-of-the-table opponents.
It remains to be seen how Pato fares against higher-calibre foes throughout the rest of the season, but today’s developments suggest that he is more likely to have a Stamford Bridge future than Falcao!
Latest score: Aston Villa 0-4 Chelsea
SEE ALSO:
Matt Miazga: Hiddink hands Chelsea debut to American centre-back vs. Aston Villa
Tenacious midfielder hints he’d consider Chelsea transfer & admits he’d be idiotic to refuse Barcelona
Chelsea looking at £31.5m Napoli star as John Terry replacement