Chelsea boss made one late change in the game against Bournemouth last night that just so happened to be the key change that won them the game.
The argument is that this change came a bit too late, but in the end it didn’t matter because it had the desired effect and it then saw Chelsea go on to win the game and come away with all three points from a very tough match in a very tough stadium to get points from.
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Christopher Nkunku came on for Nicolas Jackson in the last 10 minutes of the game, and just when everyone thought it was too late, Nkunku grabbed the winner with some quality inside the box.
Jackson had been very poor and had missed a number of chances, so really Nkunku should have come on earlier. But the player admits that Maresca told him that they needed more quality in the box.
Nkunku reacts after scoring the winner
The match winner reacted after the game, as cited on X, and he explains that Maresca asked for more quality in the box, something that had been missing all game.
Nkunku said:
“The manager said we need quality in the box [when I came on] and we have 10 minutes so he told me to enjoy.
“Good ball from Jadon [Sancho], I felt I had the space behind me and I turn, I was a bit lucky because there were the three defenders but I was able to score.”
Maresca asked for quality, Nkunku provided it!