Enzo Maresca names Chelsea duo who made him ‘afraid’ in Liverpool defeat

Chelsea captain Reece James made his first appearance of the season after recovering from injury, and Romeo Lavia was also included in the starting lineup.

In his post-match press conference, Maresca explained why he decided to substitute both players before the 60-minute mark.

‘For James and Romeo, it was 45 minutes to one hour maximum,’ Maresca said.

‘I was a bit afraid to give them more minutes on the pitch. decided to change them after 50, 55 minutes.’

Speaking more about Chelsea’s defeat, the Italian manager told the BBC: ‘I think many good things about the performance.

‘Overall it was very good, to come to this stadium against this team and dominate most of the game is not easy.

‘If we were able to maintain the 1-1 for longer then probably the result would have been different.

‘My intention was to come here and play the way we are training every day and that was clear.’

Quizzed about the display of his goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, Maresca added: ‘I’m very happy with Robert, he’s doing fantastic with us.

‘Not only in building from the back but also making saves.’

Chelsea are back in action on Thursday evening with a trip to Greek team Panathinaikos in the Conference League.