Petr Cech says striker Man Utd sold for £7m was one of the best finishers he ever played against

Petr Cech faced some of the greatest Manchester United attackers of all time during his legendary spell at Chelsea, but he’s only named one among the best finishers he has faced.

The Czech goalkeeper was Chelsea’s number one from 2004 until 2015, when he moved to Arsenal, battling Manchester United numerous times.

In this time, Petr Cech played against Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie, and Dimitar Berbatov, to name a few of the best Manchester United forwards at this time.

However, Cech has picked none among the best finishers he faced in the Premier League.

Petr Cech hails Javier Hernandez’s finishing

Cech is up there with Peter Schmeichel, David de Gea, Edwin van der Sar, and Allison as the best goalkeepers of this century in the Premier League, and so he is well placed to judge forwards.

Speaking on the Could it be Magic podcast this week, Cech selected three names when asked who the best finisher he competed against was, among them was Javier Hernandez, commonly referred to as Chicharito, meaning ‘Little Pea’.

“I think Aguero was difficult because he never shot hard.  You know, he really placed it really well. He was very clever in placing the ball, and he was around.

“Tevez was difficult because he was everywhere. You know, he kind of, he was very clever with the movement inside the box. Chicharito was the same. But luckily, the best finishers were always on my team.”

Despite being largely used from the bench, Chicharito was one of the best scorers under Sir Alex Ferguson, with lethal ability in the box, making him the perfect super sub similar to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Chicharito is remembered as a cult hero for United, and Cech’s mention shows how good he was.

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How many goals did Chicharito score against Petr Cech

Hernandez is etched into the United history books alongside Cech as he scored the 2011 title-winning goal past the Czech international.

This was one of 12 games the duo played against each other for United and Chelsea. In these games, Hernandez scored seven goals, which is a sparkling record against opposition that were among the toughest in the league.

Cech was the opponent Hernandez faced the second most in his career, with 14 clashes between the two. This included two when Chicharito and Cech were at West Ham and Arsenal, respectively.

United sold Hernandez in the end to Bayer Leverkusen for £7m after a loan at Real Madrid under Louis van Gaal.

United needs a new Chicharito

Goals reliably from a bench striker have long been part of United’s identity, whether that be Solskjaer or Chicharito.

It was a trait of Sir Alex’s sides that were successful, and United should look to get back to that.

United have been linked with Armando Gonzalez from Chivas, where Hernandez was signed from, and this would be a perfect full circle moment.