Reece James shares message with under fire Chelsea teammate Noni Madueke after his "9/10" performance for England against Greece

Noni Madueke in action for England. (Deposit Photos)

Noni Madueke has been heavily criticised for his performances for Chelsea as of late.

The 22-year-old has managed just one goal and no assists in his last nine starts for the Blues, leading to calls from fans for him to be dropped.

On Thursday, however, Madueke made his first senior start for England in their 3-0 UEFA Nations League win over Greece, and had a night to remember.

The former PSV Eindhoven winger set up England's opener on the night after just seven minutes, playing a superb interchange with Jude Bellingham, before dribbling past Greece midfielder Christos Zafeiris and pulling the ball back for Ollie Watkins to tap home.

He then continued to impress with both his direct dribbling and pressing from the front before being replaced by Jarrod Bowen in the 66th minute.

The Independent gave Madueke a 9/10 rating for his performance, describing the Chelsea winger as "one of the real success stories of [Lee] Carsley’s tenure" as England manager.

Following the game, Madueke shared a snap of him in action against Greece to Instagram, which he captioned with a dancing and blushing emojis.

Reece James, showing his support for his Chelsea and England teammate, commented on the photo: "Another day at the office."

Fellow England internationals Ezri Konsa and Morgan Rogers also commented on Madueke's post with fire and cooking emojis, while England's official Instagram wrote: "Cooking."

Madueke responds to critics

Following Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, Madueke came under heavy fire from Blues fans, who criticised the Englishman for both his role in Arsenal's opener, as well as lack of output in the final third.

Fans also jibed at Madueke's angry reaction to being substituted in the 68th minute after Pedro Neto, who moved over to the right-wing following Madueke's departure, scored Chelsea's equaliser.

Noni Madueke has struggled for Chelsea in recent weeks. (Deposit Photos)

In an apparent response to those critics, Madueke took to social media, sharing two Instagram stories.

"It gets tough sometimes... You'll be ite," the first read. In the second, Madueke shared a screenshot of a message from God which read: "Don't worry. Trust my timing."

His performance for England on Thursday will no doubt have given his doubters food for thought.