Chelsea’s performance fell short on the road as they suffered a defeat to Newcastle, ending their Carabao Cup campaign.
This loss came just days after beating Newcastle in the Premier League, only for the Magpies to get their revenge at St James’ Park…Continue Reading
One notable moment reflecting Chelsea’s disappointing display occurred when Fernandez, who had dropped deep to collect the ball, attempted an ambitious pass through Newcastle’s midfield.
Unfortunately, the pass was intercepted after failing to bypass the first Newcastle player, allowing the hosts to launch an attack on Chelsea’s side of the field.
Standing in his technical area, Maresca turned his back on the play right after Fernandez lost the ball, then headed back toward the dugout.
Chelsea fans observing his response suggested that Maresca’s patience with Fernandez may be running out.
One said: “Maresca is even tired of Enzo Fernandez.” Another added: “If there is any meritocracy left in Maresca’s System, then Enzo Fernandez has emphatically played his way out of the team.”
Fernandez arrived at Chelsea in January 2023 with a transfer fee exceeding £100 million, a hefty price that has continued to weigh on him.
Chelsea pursued him after his impressive World Cup performances, yet the former Benfica player has shown flashes of talent rather than consistent displays.
Following Chelsea’s defeat on Wednesday, Maresca remarked that the team should have managed the game better. Although he mentioned Fernandez, he didn’t place all the blame solely on him.
He said: “For ten minute we lost control, probably in that moment we needed more control. But it’s not only from Enzo, it’s general. ”
The Chelsea manager made 11 changes to his line-up and he began with a whole new team, but he rejected the idea that impacted on the result. The Italian coach was largely impressed with his team, but conceded there were work-ons.
He said: “We need to get better at many things but we didn’t concede any chances from their pressing three days ago because we contacted not with the first line – on Sunday it was Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo and tonight it was Renato Veiga, Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella – we always tried to contact with the second line because we know they are very aggressive.
“Two days ago, we did very well and I think we did very well tonight apart from the goal we conceded. But for sure we have many things we can do better.”
