Former Chelsea star Noni Madueke faced a hostile reception upon returning to Stamford Bridge. The crowd booed the winger and Cole Palmer also responded. Maduke spent two seasons at Chelsea after joining from PSV in January 2023 in a £29m deal. The England international made 92 appearances and scored 20 goals before moving to Chelsea’s London rivals Arsenal.
Chelsea made a huge profit when Madueke moved to the Gunners during their successful run at the Club World Cup. Mikel Arteta’s side paid a whopping £52m for his services. The match was a heated match between league leader Arsenal and current second place Chelsea. Maduke appeared on the pitch in the 57th minute, replacing Gabriel Martinelli.
Madueke’s return was met with harsh reaction. The 23-year-old was consistently booed, much to the delight of Chelsea star Palmer.
Palmer, named as a substitute by manager Enzo Maresca, has been out since September with a groin injury and a broken toe. The former Manchester City player did not take to the pitch but was seen warming up on the sidelines as Chelsea fans booed Maduke.
Footage on social media shows Mr Palmer turning to the crowd and nodding in approval.
Palmer wasn’t the only player believed to be targeting Madueke. The Arsenal winger came under a vocal onslaught after falling to the ground following a challenge from Enzo Fernandes.
After the successful clearance, Fernandes and Marc Cucurella celebrated by shouting at Madueke, who was sitting on the pitch, as his former team-mates made their feelings known.
Madueke received a warm reaction when the final whistle blew. Chelsea captain Reece James hugged the winger when the match ended in a draw.
Despite having the advantage, Madouk could not contribute to his team’s victory against the 10-a-side Arsenal, which ended in a draw.
Arteta commented on the match: “First of all, I think this was a proper London derby. It was really tense and you could feel from the beginning that there was something in every duel, in every action.”
“Both teams wanted to win, but they didn’t play a lot of football. There were a lot of stoppages, free kicks and yellow cards, and we didn’t have a lot of fluidity. But obviously after[Moises]Caicedo’s sending off, we wanted to settle the game. We weren’t able to do that. We had four more yellow cards and those players were obviously targeted to even the game in terms of numbers.”
